26
January
2012
|
11:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Toyota delivers 400,000th hybrid car in europe

  • The 400,000th hybrid is an Auris Hybrid produced in the UK
  • Delivered to fleet customer CTG in Belgium
Toyota delivered its 400,000th hybrid in Europe today. The first hybrid car that Toyota put on the European market was the first generation Prius back in 2000. Since then two new Prius generations have appeared and in 2010 the Auris Hybrid, produced in Europe at Burnaston, UK, joined Toyota's European hybrid line-up.

The 400,000th hybrid car delivered in Europe is an Auris Hybrid. It was handed over to Valentine Nkwocha in Anderlecht (Belgium) as a company car from his employer CTG, an IT-consultancy. The company recently ordered over 20 Auris Hybrid cars to provide them to their junior consultants.

"We are very proud to deliver our 400,000th hybrid in Europe to a customer in Belgium where we have a strong presence with our European headquarters, our RandD centre, our parts and vehicle logistics operations," said Michel Gardel, Vice President of Communication, External and Environmental Affairs at Toyota Motor Europe. "It shows that Belgian and European customers are not only ready to consider a hybrid vehicle purchase but for Toyota, they have been doing so in large numbers — in fact 10% of our sales in Europe were hybrid vehicles last year," he added.

"Choosing hybrid cars for our fleet was a conscious decision," says Sandra Devleeschouwer, HR Officer at CTG. "We notice that more and more young people are concerned by environmental performances and we have therefore decided to provide all junior consultants with an Auris Hybrid. Not only do they receive a nice and well equipped car, but they also pay limited taxes. Furthermore, the low fuel, maintenance costs and the various fiscal advantages are, of course, beneficial to the company," she added.

To date, Toyota has sold more than 3.5 million hybrid vehicles worldwide, representing a reduction of more than 23 million tons of CO2. Following the recent European Commission results confirming the industry leadership of Toyota Motor Europe with the lowest fleet-wide average CO2 emissions in Europe in 2010, Toyota will offer even more choice for hybrid vehicles in 2012 when the new seven-seater Toyota Prius+ and Prius Plug-in Hybrid join the Prius to make up the Prius Family. Launched in 2011, the New Yaris will soon be offered as a full hybrid version when the Yaris Hybrid makes its market debut later this year.