Global sales of Toyota Prius crosses 3 million units

Toyota holds a special place in our hearts for always being a few big steps ahead of its competitors in 'hybrid vehicle' technology and, more importantly, popularizing it to the masses. While most other manufacturers were still contemplating on which amongst 'hybrid', 'pure electric' and 'fuel cell' is the best alternative to internal combustion engines to plonk in their resources and were taking baby-steps towards them, Toyota plunged chest-deep, pooled in its funds and came out with the Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger car, in 1997. Remember, they had no clue then on what would be the result of this highly-expensive experiment.

But now, a decade and half later, Toyota is laughing all the way, with an enormous technical, commercial and marketing lead in 'hybrids' over competitors that are trying to catch up quickly. The Prius, that started off as a single model, has grown into a sub-brand of its own now, encompassing a family of hybrid vehicles. If that wasn't enough, catching up with the Prius just got a bit more difficult as it’s cumulative global sales crossed 3 million units in the month of June-2013. Add the fact that the combined global sales of all ‘Hybrid’ models of Toyota crossed the 5 million milestone earlier this year (March-2013), and it calls for a celebration.

Thanks to Toyota's website, we now know that the Prius was born of a comment made by its president Eiji Toyoda in September-1993. “In the 21st century, is it acceptable to go on making cars the same way? Shouldn’t we rethink manufacturing from the ground up?” were the statements that eventually led to the launch of Prius on October-14, 1997. The car was a result of loads of research done on user-friendliness, body size, design, fuel economy and environmental and social issues in a 21st century automobile, which led to the concept of a motor and engine working together as a "hybrid" system.

The Prius was not a sensational hit immediately on launch. But, slowly and steadily, it became the darling of the automotive industry with both the general public and a host of celebrities embracing the new ‘green’ thing in town. When its sales ended in 2003, the first-generation Prius had found 123,000 customers. The second-generation model, that was launched in 2003 and was on sale until 2011, was more successful and touched a cumulative sales figure of 1.19 million units globally. Launched in 2011, the third-generation model has already raced to 1.69 million units, with the number increasing steadily.

A point to be noted is that these numbers do not include the sales of Prius off-springs like Alpha, c, v, Plug-in Hybrid, etc. which would add up another 0.5 million units approximately.

Though Toyota did launch the third-generation Prius in India, the lack of incentives from the government and the duties and taxes charged on importing the Completely Built Units (CBU) into the country meant that the Prius retails at an astronomical price tag of INR 32 Lakhs ex-showroom Chennai for the top-end variant. Not surprisingly, sighting a Prius on our roads is as rare as spotting an Italian exotic. Here is us wishing to see more Prii (plural of Prius) in India.