Toyota’s hybrid vehicles have saved their owners 25 billion litres of petrol – enough fuel, theoretically, for each of their cars to travel around the Earth… and then some.
The calculation was revealed by the world’s leading carmaker when it announced it has sold more than nine million Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles around the world.
The latest milestone, achieved in April, comes as Toyota South Africa prepares to introduce its newest hybrid, the striking new Prius, next month.
Toyota’s parent company in Japan has revealed that the total fuel saving from its nine million hybrids represents an average of more than 2,770 litres per vehicle compared with driving petrol-only cars of similar size.
The saving would provide enough fuel for each of those vehicles to travel at least 52,400km, or 1.3 times around the equator, based on a nominal average consumption of 5.3 litres per 100km.
Instead of doing that, of course, Toyota’s hybrid owners have pocketed billions of dollars in savings.
Toyota has also estimated its hybrid vehicles have resulted in approximately 67 million fewer tonnes of CO2 emissions than would have been emitted by petrol-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance^.
“Toyota remains committed to the development of Hybrid Technology, and this is well illustrated with the continued expansion of Hybrid models across our product range. Toyota Hybrids offer frugal fuel consumption, low emissions and superb refinement, paired with low running costs and incorporate the same QDR (Quality, Durability, Reliability) principles our customers have come to rely on.” says Glenn Crompton, Toyota SA Motors’ Vice-President of Marketing.
Globally, Toyota’s total is led by the world’s best-selling hybrid, Prius, with 3.7 million sales since its debut in Japan in December 1997. Prius c has reached 1.25 million sales, Prius v 634,000 and Camry hybrid 574,000.
While it took 10 years for Toyota to achieve one million global hybrid sales, it has sold eight million in the past nine years and has averaged more than one million hybrid sales a year since 2009.
The company’s hybrid vehicles are sold in more than 90 markets.
Toyota has positioned hybrid advances as core environmental technologies for the 21st century. Using these technologies, Toyota is also working on improving non-hybrid cars.
TOYOTA HYBRID MILESTONES
|
9 million |
April 2016 |
|
8 million |
July 2015 |
|
9 million |
September 2014 |
|
9 million |
December 2013 |
|
5 million |
March 2013 |
|
4 million |
April 2012 |
|
3 million |
February 2011 |
|
2 million |
August 2009 |
|
1 million |
May 2007 |
TOYOTA’S HYBRID SALES IN SOUTH AFRICA
Locally over 2900 Hybrid models have found homes, including Lexus hybrid models. As Hybrid models are extended to additional product ranges and hybrid technology becomes more accessible, we look forward to even higher levels of hybrid adoption.