Toyota Australia doubles hybrid sales in two years

Toyota has passed 200,000 hybrid sales in Australia, doubling the buyer tally of its petrol-electric vehicles in just two years.The Japanese brand hit the 100,000 mark locally in April 2019, 18 years after its first hybrid, the Prius, went on sale. A raft of hybrid models released since mid 2019, however, has helped the company shift the same number in 26 months.Toyota Australia’s hybrid sales sit at 203,949 up to the end of May.Hybrid versions of the RAV4 have been especially popular since debuting in mid 2019, accounting for 70 per cent of the mid-sized SUV’s sales.

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The RAV4 is the main driving force behind the surge in petrol-electric sales, though it has also prompted long waiting times for customers that are still at about six months.A hybrid version of the C-HR compact SUV was introduced in late 2019, the Yaris city car was given a petrol-electric variant for the first time with the latest-generation model launched in 2020, and the same drivetrain was offered in the new Yaris Cross placed into showrooms in late 2020.The Camry Hybrid remains successful and now dominates the medium car’s line-up after Toyota Australia dropped V6 models as part of an early 2021 update.The Corolla small car range was given a permanent range of hybrid versions in 2018 after the previous-generation model had a standalone variant only.With the arrival this month of a fourth-generation Kluger featuring a petrol-electric model for the first time in the seven-seater SUV’s local history, Toyota Australia now offers a hybrid version of every passenger car and car-based SUV.

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The company expects Kluger sales to be skewed more towards the hybrid variant than the V6 petrol models, if not achieving the same hybrid/petrol ratio as the RAV4.Toyota’s commercial range, which includes the HiLux, and its Fortuner, Prado and LandCruiser off-road 4WDs remain the only models without an electrified option.It’s not good news for all Toyota hybrids. Toyota Australia has announced it will this year axe the Prius V petrol-electric people-mover that has accounted for just 97 sales so far this year.The regular Prius is faring even worse, with just 23 units sold up to the end of May. The Prius was the world’s best-selling hybrid for years, but in 2019 was overtaken by the hybrid RAV4 in 2019.Toyota Australia had sold 134,200 hybrids by April 2020 and has averaged 5812 hybrid sales a month (69,749 total) since, up to May 2021.Globally, Toyota hybrid sales passed the 15 million mark in April 2020.