Toyota Australia has announced it has sold more than 100,000 hybrid vehicles since the Prius first went on sale locally in 2001.
The milestone was reached towards the end of April and comes at a time when the brand is expanding its hybrid portfolio.
A petrol-electric RAV4, the brand’s first hybrid SUV to be sold in Australia, is about to launch, joining the Camry, Corolla hatch, Prius, Prius c and Prius v.
A hybrid version of the new Corolla sedan is also set to arrive before 2019 is out, while two more hybrid models will be added to the range by the end of 2020, one of which is likely to be the new Kluger.
Toyota says sales of its hybrid models will exceed 20,000 units in 2019, well up on the 11,590 sold in 2018.
So far in 2019, 45.4 per cent of Camry sales and 31.4 per cent of Corolla sales are hybrid variants.
The Corolla has become the most popular hybrid vehicle in Australia, with 2957 sales this year, edging ahead of Camry with 2298 sales.
"There is a lot of buzz lately about EVs being the future of mobility, but the reality is the technology is already here and Toyota has been leading the way with hybrid petrol-electric powertrains in Australia for almost 20 years," said Sean Hanley Toyota Australia's vice president for sales and marketing.
"Hybrid electric technology is not only more affordable than pure electric vehicles, it requires no charging infrastructure, emits less CO2 than a traditional petrol combustion engine and is more fuel-efficient.
"An owner of today's Camry Ascent Sport Hybrid can achieve savings of more than $800* and reduce CO2 emissions by almost 1.3 tonnes* every year, so the total economic and environmental savings from 100,000 hybrids are huge," he said.
"This clearly demonstrates that hybrid drivetrains are the most affordable and accessible solution available today. It is the most practical way to reduce emissions because it is available now and it uses existing infrastructure."
Toyota is aiming for electrified vehicles to account for more than 50 per cent of the brand’s global new-vehicle sales around the end of the next decade.
Toyota Hybrid sales in Australia - by model:
Camry - 55,006
Prius - 20,534
Corolla - 10,654
Prius c - 9420
Prius v - 4599
Total: 100,213
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