Photo: Toyota
Initially offered as a four-door sedan in 1997, the Prius leveled up to a liftback in 2003 with the introduction of the second generation. The nameplate that made Toyota a household name for all things hybrid has helped the automaker reach a sales milestone in 2020, namely the sale of 15 million hybrids in the span of 23 years.
Although it confirmed it a few days ago, the milestone was reached in January 2020 according to the Japanese automaker. 44 individual models from Toyota and luxury brand Lexus are now offered with hybrid technology, an impressive number as well as an impressive marketing and advertising effort when you think about it.
Takeshi Uchiyamada, who is chairman of Toyota since 2013, is widely known as the father of the Prius. He led the development of the original, a nameplate that went on to become the world’s best-selling hybrid electric vehicle. Environmentalists can also rejoice because Toyota’s hybrids “have reduced CO2 emissions by more than 120 million tonnes worldwide to date compared to sales of equivalent petrol vehicles.”
Over in Europe, where meeting the emissions target set for 2020 and 2021 is troublesome for other automakers, Toyota claims that it’s well on its way to meeting the magic figure of 95 grams per kilometer. The Japanese automaker says that hybrids are vital to tackling the toughest CO2 regulations in the world, and better still, Toyota also offers a plug-in hybrid option for the Prius as well as a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.
“We must work hard on improving battery performance and lowering costs of BEVs, which we are doing,” said chief officer Shigeki Terashi. “But we must avoid having no plan until we overcome the hurdles related to both BEVs and FCEVs.”
By 2025, the juggernaut from the Land of the Rising Sun plans to launch 40 new or updated electrified vehicles on the Old Continent. Of those, “at least 10” promise to emit zero emissions. At least one of those EVs is a crossover that Toyota is developing in collaboration with Subaru. The yet-to-be-named crossover will be joined by the second generation of the Mirai.
Takeshi Uchiyamada, who is chairman of Toyota since 2013, is widely known as the father of the Prius. He led the development of the original, a nameplate that went on to become the world’s best-selling hybrid electric vehicle. Environmentalists can also rejoice because Toyota’s hybrids “have reduced CO2 emissions by more than 120 million tonnes worldwide to date compared to sales of equivalent petrol vehicles.”
Over in Europe, where meeting the emissions target set for 2020 and 2021 is troublesome for other automakers, Toyota claims that it’s well on its way to meeting the magic figure of 95 grams per kilometer. The Japanese automaker says that hybrids are vital to tackling the toughest CO2 regulations in the world, and better still, Toyota also offers a plug-in hybrid option for the Prius as well as a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.
“We must work hard on improving battery performance and lowering costs of BEVs, which we are doing,” said chief officer Shigeki Terashi. “But we must avoid having no plan until we overcome the hurdles related to both BEVs and FCEVs.”
By 2025, the juggernaut from the Land of the Rising Sun plans to launch 40 new or updated electrified vehicles on the Old Continent. Of those, “at least 10” promise to emit zero emissions. At least one of those EVs is a crossover that Toyota is developing in collaboration with Subaru. The yet-to-be-named crossover will be joined by the second generation of the Mirai.
Google News