International sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles have passed the five million mark.
AAP reports that figures up to the end of March show that the company has now sold 5.125 million hybrid vehicles worldwide.
In 1997, Toyota decided to start manufacturing the world’s first mass produced hybrid passenger car, the Prius.
At the time, the announcement was met with scepticism. However, sales of the company’s 19 hybrid models now account for 14 per cent of global sales, including 40 per cent of sales in Japan.
Locally, Toyota manufactures the Camry Hybrid which recently surpassed the Prius hatch to become Australia’s most popular hybrid car.
Australian sales of the car have now passed the 20,000, compared to a total of 18,000 Prius hatch sales.
New car sales from VFACTS show that hybrid vehicles continue to become more popular within this country. For example, they rose by 600 percent in December 2012, and by 160 percent for the 2012 calendar year.
Total sales of all models of hybrid cars in Australia have now passed the 50,000 mark.
Internationally, Toyota offers 19 hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid. The company plans to release 18 new hybrids between now and December 2015.