6 Million Toyota Hybrids Have Been Sold
Toyota just crossed a major milestone: the sale of its 6 millionth hybrid vehicle. A hybrid vehicle is one that combines an electric car with a gasoline-powered car and delivers the best attributes of both. Hybrid vehicles have substantially better fuel economy than gasoline vehicles thanks to being powered by a battery for a portion of the drive. Hybrid vehicles use what is referred to as a regenerative braking system; when the brakes are applied to slow down a vehicle, some of the energy is captured and stored in a battery. This battery, in turn, can be used to power the vehicle. Hybrid vehicles perform best in stop-and-go traffic because the batteries are recharged frequently and the car can drive in battery mode instead of gasoline mode. This advantage in stop-and-go traffic makes hybrid vehicles the ideal choice for driving in the city and in suburbrs with lots of stop signs and traffic lights. The best-known hybird vehicle in the world is the Toyota Prius, which is rated at 51 mpg in city driving (and 48 mpg on the highway). Compare the Prius' city driving performance to that of the Toyota Corolla, the world's best-selling car of all time and prized for its fuel economy and reliability. The Corolla achieves a very respectable 38 mpg on the highway, but only 29 mpg in city driving. Both vehicles have an engine with a 1.8L displacement, but the crucial difference is that the Prius has a hybrid 1.8L engine, whereas the Corolla has a traditional, gasoline-powered 1.8L engine. The Prius' hybrid engine is 76% more efficient than the gasoline engine in the Corolla, which can add up to substanial savings on fuel.
Although the Prius is the best-known hybrid vehicle that Toyota produces, it is by no means the only hybrid that Toyota produces. Toyota's legendary Camry model, a benchmark for safety and reliability in the mid-size sedan class, is also available with a hybrid engine. In fact, Toyota sells 24 hybrid passenger car models in approximately 80 countries around the world!
Toyota calculates that as of December 31, 2013, the Toyota hybrid vehicles on the road have resulted in approximately 41 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions, and have saved 3.9 billion gallons of gasoline. To learn more about hybrid vehicles, call 603-524-4922 and ask to speak with a product specialist today!
