Hybrid Sales March On

Fourteen years after first launching the Prius at the British International Motor Show.

Toyota are celebrating the sales of 100,000 hybrid cars in the UK. Their now extensive range has proved the, clean, efficient and smooth powertrain technology is now mainstream in the motoring market.

The car that clocked up the first hundred thousandth is the British-built, an Auris Hybrid Touring Sports built by Toyota at its Burnaston plant, near Derby. The hybrid system for this car includes a 1.8-litre VVT-i petrol engine manufactured by TMUK at Deeside in North Wales.

Hybrid Cars are at the heart of Toyota’s investment in UK manufacturing. The Auris and Auris Touring Sports models built in the UK are exported worldwide.

Following on from the pioneering original hybrid customers, today there are six different Toyota hybrids, from compact superminis and family hatchbacks to seven-seat MPVs. Global sales of Toyota hybrids are nearing seven million. The Prius is now among the world’s most popular cars.

British sales of the hybrid-powered Auris are set to overtake those of petrol and diesel versions combined and Yaris Hybrid is taking an increasingly large share of overall sales of the supermini.

Read the Drive.co.uk Review of the Toyota Auris Touring Sports

Toyota models are only a part of the hybrid picture: Toyotas’s sister brand Lexus has brought the benefits of hybrid, with power and sophistication to the luxury car market. With now nearly 50,000 UK sales, achieved since the debut here of the RX 400h in 2005.

Read the Drive.co.uk Review of the Lexus IS300h F Sport

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