The brand reported Q1 sales of 197,309 Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Europe, of which full hybrid sales totalled 38,673, up 82.3% from the same period last year.

Full hybrid models now constitute around 20% of total Toyota and Lexus sales in the first quarter, doubling from the same period in 2012. 



Cumulative sales of Toyota and Lexus full hybrid models in Europe since 2000 reached 544,184 units at the end of March 2013, contributing to some 10% of Toyota’s global full hybrid sales. The resulting CO2 reduction is approximately 3.4 million tonnes.

Daniele Schillaci, TME senior vice-president for sales and marketing, commented: ‘The European automotive industry is still experiencing an increasingly shrinking market. Despite the challenging sales environment, our results are in-line with the market evolution. As we approach our global 5 million full hybrid sales milestone, the strong sales performance of our hybrid products in Europe is particularly encouraging.’


Strong performances were seen by the Toyota Yaris Hybrid, which saw European sales totalling 11,459 units during the first quarter of 2013.

Sales of the Auris Hybrid reached 12,736 units during the first quarter of 2013, an increase of 69.2% over 2012. And in France, around three quarters of Toyota Auris registrations during the first three months were the full hybrid variant. 


General range highlights include the Toyota Auris, which saw sales increase by 41% to 32,625 units during the first quarter of 2013. This range will be strengthened further when the new Toyota Auris Touring Sports goes on sale in Europe later this year. 


The brand also reported a strong performance for the newly launched Toyota RAV4, with customer contracts in March having more than doubled year-on-year. 



In addition, sales of the Toyota Hilux, for all variants, are up 29.8% with first quarter sales of 8,041 units. The Toyota Land Cruiser V8 also saw sales increase by some 29.6% to 4,458 units. Both models performed strongly across markets in Europe. 



Daniele Schillaci added: ‘We are looking forward to a solid second half of the year following the strong C-segment launch for Toyota, enabling us to pursue sustainable growth in 2013 consistent with our plans.’

Meanwhile Lexus reported a record high in Q1 sales of 3,700 units in Eastern Europe consisting of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Caucasus. 



Paul Van der Burgh, director for Lexus Europe, commented: ‘Our recently launched models have been warmly received by customers across Europe and it is encouraging to see the execution of our L-finesse design philosophy, coupled with dynamic improvements, is resonating well with customers.’