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NEWS
Toyota's hybrid milestone
Local sales of eco-friendly cars picking up, with Camry Hybrid closing in on its original sales targetAustralians bought hybrid-drive vehicles in record numbers last year.
The precise figures, according to Toyota were 13,919 vehicles sold, for an increase of 57.8 per cent, year on year. Much of the increase came from private buyers, who accounted for 44 per cent of hybrid sales last year, versus 29 per cent in 2011.
"The growing popularity of hybrid cars shows they are now regarded as a mainstream choice for local motorists due to a combination of their performance and their excellent fuel economy," said Matthew Callachor, Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing.
"In passenger cars, hybrid sales were up 61.1 per cent last year compared with growth of just less than one per cent for diesels. Significantly, the number of private buyers opting for hybrid passenger cars more than doubled while those choosing diesel passenger cars fell 6.8 per cent."
Of the hybrids sold in Australia last year, Toyota amassed the lion's share: 10,787. That's just under five per cent of the company's total tally of 218,176 vehicles sold in Australia during 2012. Toyota hybrids sold in larger numbers than 50 other marques, the company has pointed out, including prestige brand Audi. And Toyota hybrids were just 500 units behind BMW. The change in buying habits has accelerated in recent years. Toyota has sold over 40,000 hybrids in Australia since the introduction of its first-generation Prius in 2001, but last year's record number represents roughly 25 per cent, and the previous record of 8444 in 2010 something like 20 per cent.
Not so surprisingly, the locally-built Camry Hybrid (pictured) was the most popular hybrid in the Toyota range last year, notching up 7107 sales. In December, when it sold 1143 units, Toyota's frugal sedan for the family outsold traditional rival, the Ford Falcon. But the Camry Hybrid still has some way to go before it achieves its original sales target of 10,000 units a year. That goal is looking closer now than ever before, however.
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