Toyota Hits Landmark 400,000 With Hybrid Car Sales

Feb 3 2012

In a recent landmark for low carbon vehicles, Toyota managed to surpass the 400,000 level with sales of its hybrid cars in Europe.  How many of these were sold to car loan buyers is not known, but no doubt it is a substantial percentage.

The 400,000th vehicle was a Toyota Auris Hybrid.  It was manufactured at the company’s Burnaston factory in Derbyshire and the lucky buyer was CTG – a Belgian IT company.

The Deputy Managing Director of Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK, Tony Walker, says the Auris has played a crucial part in popularising the hybrid technology.  It was the first full hybrid to be manufactured in Europe.

He added “We are pleased that it is an Auris Hybrid from Burnaston that has taken the company to this landmark total.”

For Toyota Europe’s Vice President of External and Environmental Affairs and Communication, Michel Gardel, it was a proud moment.  He said it proved that European customers were ready to adopt hybrid technology.  In the case of Toyota, he added, they have already done so in substantial numbers: about 10% of all cars the company sold on the continent last year were hybrids.

The achievement follows an announcement in November that the Burnaston Toyota factory will soon benefit from a massive £100 million investment.

So far Toyota has sold more than 3.5 million hybrid vehicles worldwide.  This figure will no doubt increase significantly when the new 134mpg Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the seven-seater Prius+ are launched later in 2012.

Author - Louise Hutchinson

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