Toyota Ireland has kicked off 2018 as the best-selling car brand in the country, thanks to significant demand for its hybrid range. The Japanese carmaker closed out January with a 11.83 per cent market share, garnered through the sale of 4,393 passenger vehicles, 48 per cent of which were hybrids.
Toyota’s most popular model in January was the Yaris, which sold 1026 units. Of these, 49 per cent were hybrids.
Commenting on the January sales haul, Toyota Ireland’s chief executive Steve Tormey said: “We are delighted with the strong start to 2018, particularly with how well our hybrid range has performed, which is ahead of our powertrain mix predictions.
“With close to 50 per cent hybrid mix of our total passenger car sales, it’s very clear that hybrid is the best technology in the market today to meet customers’ needs for more environmentally friendly and better driving experiences. With diesel now accounting for only 21 per cent of our car sales, it is clear Toyota customers are ahead of the market in their move out of diesel and into hybrid.”
Looking at the overall sales mix in January, hybrid accounted for 6.26 per cent of the entire car market, a 73 per cent year on year increase, while diesel has been decimated, falling by 17 per cent year on year.
Tormey added, “Similar to the Irish Government, Toyota too has a vision for a zero emissions society, which we believe can be a reality by 2050. To help achieve this, Toyota’s self-charging hybrid cars, which are in electric mode for up to 55 per cent of the time, should be viewed as a stepping stone for consumers into full electrification.
“In the end, it’s the customer who will decide and they have decided that hybrid is the start of their journey into electrification, which gives society most of the environmental and health benefits of full electrification but without the compromise.”
