It took market sales leader Toyota Australia about 17 years to sell its first 100,000 petrol-electric hybrid cars, but just three years to sell the next 100,000.
The rapid acceleration in Toyota hybrid take-up has seen the CO2-reducing drivetrain technology go from expensive curio to mainstream in a flash. It now comes in 10 of Toyota’s 20 locally offered vehicle lines either as standard or an option.
A total of 210,817 Toyota HEVs have been sold in this country to the end of June 2021, led by the Camry, RAV4, Corolla and Prius.
Toyota Australia broke its all-time hybrid sales record last year with 54,335 finding buyers. That record will be smashed in 2021, with 34,036 hybrids recorded as sold already to the end of June.
The total represents 28.6 per cent of Toyota’s overall sales in 2021. Leading the way in 2021 is the supply-constrained RAV4 Hybrid with 14,821 sales, or 72.8 per cent of total RAV4 demand.
Buyers of the Corolla have also favoured hybrids with 7906 sold in 2021 so far, representing 57.2 per cent of the model’s total volume. Hybrid is even more popular among Camry buyers at 79.5 per cent (4979) and Yaris Cross at 61.4 per cent (2588).
“With the arrival of the all-new Kluger hybrid electric SUV last month, we look forward to the next chapter of Toyota’s hybrid journey in Australia,” added Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley.
As reported previously, hybrid versions of the top-selling Toyota HiLux ute, Prado SUV, LandCruiser 4×4 and cab chassis, and HiAce van will hit the Australian market before 2030.
Beyond hybrid, Toyota’s first battery-electric vehicle (BEV), the bZ4X mid-sized SUV, could arrive in Australia before the end of 2022 – just a few months after it goes on sale in Japan and China. But the top-selling carmaker downplayed volume expectations.
2001 Toyota Prius
Toyota Australia has no fixed plan to launch plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) such as the RAV4 Prime, citing the technology’s cost and the added complexity of charging as deterrents.
Toyota launched fleet sales for its second generation Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) recently and is bullish about that technology’s long-term applications, quite contrary to more skeptical Volkswagen and Tesla.
Total Toyota Australia hybrid sales by vehicle line
| Camry | 75,998 |
|---|---|
| RAV4 | 48,632 |
| Corolla | 40,143 |
| Prius | 20,778 |
| Prius C | 9758 |
| C-HR | 5079 |
| Prius V | 5255 |
| Yaris Cross | 3445 |
| Kluger | 1118 |
| Yaris | 611 |
| TOTAL | 210,817 |
MORE: 2021 Toyota Mirai review
MORE: Australia’s electric car launch calendar
MORE: Toyota RAV4 PHEV not for Australia… yet
MORE: Toyota LandCruiser, HiLux and Prado hybrids confirmed
MORE: Victoria’s ‘worst EV policy in the world’ slammed
