Toyota Hits Four Million Unit Global Sales Milestone for Hybrids

TORRANCE (May. 22, 2012) – Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) in Japan announced its global hybrid vehicle sales totaled four million units through April 2012.

Toyota currently sells 18 hybrid passenger vehicles in 80 countries and regions around the world. This year, hybrid vehicle accounted for 15 percent of TMC’s global vehicle sales. Prius, Toyota’s first hybrid passenger car, went on sale in Japan in 1997. Hybrid technology was later introduced to the U.S. in 2000 with the arrival of the Prius.

Since then, the Toyota Division of Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. sold 1.5 million hybrid vehicles in the U.S., accounting for 65 percent of all hybrid vehicles sold in the region. Prius, the iconic hybrid brand, comprises half of all hybrids on the road in the U.S. with sales totaling 1.2 million units through April 2012.

The expansion of the Prius has been successful in the U.S. since the Prius v was introduced in to the market in November 2011 followed by Prius c and Prius Plug-in during the first quarter 2012. In that time, Prius family sold 60,859 units in the U.S.

"All of us at Toyota would like to sincerely thank our customers, who have made Prius the best-selling hybrid in the industry," said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division. "While we're proud of this accomplishment, we are not stopping here as hybrids will continue to be a core technology for Toyota."

In addition to the Prius Family, Toyota’s other U.S. hybrid models include versions of the Camry and Highlander, which feature larger displacement applications of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive.

Toyota calculates that the total number of its hybrid vehicles sold globally since 1997 have produced to approximately 26 million fewer tons of C02 emissions than would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.

CONSUMER REPORTS SURVEY: AMERICANS SAY FUEL ECONOMY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CAR BUYING FACTOR

Nearly three-quarters of drivers would consider an alternative fuel vehicle for their next car

YONKERS, NY - With fuel prices at near record levels, consumers are driving less and contemplating a move to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, according to recent survey by Consumer Reports.

The survey found that 37 percent said their leading consideration when shopping for their next car will be fuel economy. A distant second was quality (17 percent) followed by safety (16 percent), value (14 percent) and performance (6 percent).

"These results make it clear that high fuel prices are continuing to impact driver behavior and influencing future purchase considerations," said Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy auto editor. "While quality, safety and value are still important, this may be foreshadowing a market shift by folks seeking relief at the pump."

Some two-thirds of owners surveyed said they expected their next vehicle to get better fuel mileage than the one they're driving now. While gasoline costs (90 percent) were the number one reason cited for wanting a more fuel-efficient vehicle, more than half of respondents also had other reasons, including a desire to be more environmentally friendly (62 percent) and concern about dependence on foreign oil (56 percent).

Women disproportionately said they were motivated by the environmental benefit of better fuel economy (65 percent vs. 58 percent of men), more concerned about dependence on foreign oil (63 percent vs. 49 percent of men), and impacted by changes on the home front (38 percent vs. 31 percent).

For more information regarding Consumer Reports' fuel economy survey, helpful fuel economy tips and advice on selecting the most fuel-efficient car for your needs visitwww.ConsumerReports.org/fuel.

The survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, found that car owners were open to different ways of saving at the pump, from downsizing to looking at hybrids, electric cars, or models with diesel engines. In all, nearly three quarters (73 percent) of participants said they would consider some type of alternatively fueled vehicle, with flex-fuel (which can run on E85 ethanol) and hybrid models leading the way. Younger buyers were more likely to consider an alternatively-fuel or purely electric vehicle than drivers over the age of 55.

Of those who said they plan to move to a different type, owners of large SUVs were the most open to downsizing, frequently planning to move to a smaller SUV. Small cars were the leading category targeted by survey respondents for their next vehicle, followed by larger sedans and midsized SUVs. Further illuminating a future market shift, larger sedans (18 percent) and minivans (7 percent) are on fewer participants' radar relative to their current model.

With the federal government expected to finalize new fuel efficiency standards later this year that would require manufacturer's average fuel economy to reach 54.5 miles-per-gallon by 2025, some 90 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statements "Auto manufacturers should offer a greater variety of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the near future." Almost 80 percent felt the same about the statements "Fuel economy standards should require auto manufacturers to increase the overall fleet average to at least 55 miles per gallon," (79%) and "I am willing to pay extra for a more fuel efficient vehicle if I can recover the additional cost through lower fuel costs" (81%).

"When gas prices are high, it's always tempting to rush to trade-in for a more fuel-efficient car to save at the pump. But our research has shown that you're often better off financially to stick it out with the vehicle you have if it's less than three years old, because a new vehicle will cost you more in depreciation than you would save on gas" said Bartlett. The Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted the random, nationwide telephone survey in two waves, April 5-7 and April 12-15, 2012, contacting 2,009 adults. The Center interviewed 1,702 adults in households that had at least one car.