Toyota worldwide hybrid sales top 500,000

Toyota Motor Corporation on Friday announced that global cumulative sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles have topped 500,000, with approximately 513,000 units sold worldwide by the end of October this year.

TMC launched the Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, in Japan in 1997 and began selling it in North America, Europe and elsewhere in 2000. In 2001, it added the Estima Hybrid minivan, the Crown luxury sedan mild hybrid and the Dyna light-duty hybrid truck in Japan.

Aiming to achieve a fusion of environmental performance and power, in 2003 TMC introduced the second-generation Prius, a new-generation hybrid system based on the concept of Hybrid Synergy Drive.

In 2005, it expanded use of this system to power-demanding SUVs in the form of the Lexus RX400h (the Harrier Hybrid in Japan) and the Highlander Hybrid (Kluger Hybrid in Japan).

Not stopping there, TMC is preparing a Hybrid Synergy Drive-based hybrid system for rear-wheel-drive passenger vehicles and expects to introduce it on the Lexus GS450h, scheduled for launch next spring.

TMC has positioned hybrid technology as its key technology in addressing environmental issues in the 21st century, and intends to enhance its hybrid line-up while encouraging the widespread use of hybrid technology, the company said in a statement.