Toyota Prius Now 3rd in World Auto Sales

May 30th, 2012 by Zachary Shahan

Toyota Prius has now pulled into third in worldwide auto sales. In other words, that thing is popular! Many probably still think of hybrids as “alternative” vehicles, but apparently they are now very mainstream.

And this is really good news for other types of electric vehicles like the Leaf and the Volt. Why? Well, their first-year sales are looking much better than the Prius’ were, implying that they will one day be on the top of the heap as well (will make it hard for FOX News to rail against them then).

Presumably, rising fuel costs, some new Prius models, concern about global warming, and the fact that the Prius is just a really good car are responsible for its success. And, due to all those factors, the first quarter of 2012 marked the first time the Prius was the third best-selling car line in the world.

“Toyota sold a staggering 247,230 Prius hybrids, beating sales figures for cars like the Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf,” Green Car Reports… reports. “In first place for the quarter, selling 300,800 cars was another Toyota, the 2012 Corolla. In second place, just under 30,000 cars ahead of the Prius line, was the 2012 Ford Focus.”

Green Car Reports notes that while there was only one Prius model per year available up until one year ago, three additional models have been offered in the last year — the 2012 Toyota Prius C subcompact hatch, 2012 Toyota Prius V mid-size wagon, and the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

Congrats to Toyota, the folks who work on the Prius models, and all of you who have decided to go and choose a Prius over a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle.

h/t Inhabitat
Image: Toyota Prius

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

Tags: hybrid vehicles, Toyota, toyota prius

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

Pingback: Toyota: $5,000 Off Prius Plug-in −EV Obsession
Pingback: Marcacci Communications
Pingback: Prius Is Dominating Hybrid Sales | Planetsave
Pingback: Over 6,000 Toyota Prius Plug-ins Sold - CleanTechnica
Pingback: mitsubishi electric vehicle EV plugin : Renew Economy
Pingback: 2015 Toyota Prius Needs to Innovate to Stay on Top | Patriot Roofing and Solar | San Diego Roofing Experts | Solar Installation San Diego
Pingback: The Vauxhall Ampera — Experienced By A Doubter - CleanTechnica
Pingback: Fuel Costs of a Honda Fit EV: $0.04 per Mile? - CleanTechnica
Pingback: Mixed Greens: Prius cracks top 3 in global car sales - reneweconomy.com.au : Renew Economy
Pingback: Mixed Greens: Prius pulls in to top 3 of global car sales - reneweconomy.com.au : Renew Economy
Ross

An all electric car that I haven’t seen mentioned on here is the Renault Fluence ZE (zero emissions), possibly because it doesn’t seem to be available in the US yet. It is the regular car with an electric motor.
In Ireland the local electricity distribution operator ESB is installing public EV charge points all over the country and the first couple of thousand private charge points in people’s home for free. A few of the public ones were installed in my town south of Dublin recently.

Any how here’s a video review of the Fluence ZE in Ireland that has me stoked about buying an EV next time if I can sort out the charging in my underground parking space.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  hmm, bookmarking this. haven’t seen this car, but most of my news sources are based in the US (still, several from the UK). hope to see more soon on this. share it if you’ve got it.