By Steve Laser
Seventeen years since launching its first hybrid vehicle, Toyota has reached yet another sales milestone with seven million sold worldwide. While the Prius remains its most successful hybrid to date, it wasn’t the first. That credit goes to the Japanese Coaster Hybrid EV bus launched in August 1997. Prius production began in December of that year and the rest, as they say, is history.
How many hybrid models does Toyota sell today? Well, there’s four different models of the Prius in the U.S., plus the Camry, Avalon and Highlander hybrids. Lexus, of course, offers quite a few hybrids including the CT, ES, GS, LS, RX and new NX.
Truth be told, there are 28 different Toyota and Lexus hybrids sold worldwide with some names that are foreign to Americans. Have you heard of the Toyota Alphard, Auris or Vellfire hybrids? How about the Voxy, Noah or Crown Majesta?
It’s possible that in the not too distant future, a hybrid powertrain will find its way into all of Toyota’s models. In the meantime, congratulations are in order to Toyota for making the word “hybrid” a household name.
News source and photos courtesy of Toyota UK
Story (commentary) © 2014 CarNichiWa.com