Toyota set a new corporate record in New Zealand for the number of hybrid vehicles sold by a single brand through its Stores in New Zealand for 2021.

Over 11,400 new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) – ranging from the sub-compact Yaris to seven-seater Highlander – were sold in 2021– up from 8,135 in 2020 – proving that HEVs continue to be a strong electrified product for Toyota.

Toyota New Zealand General Manager of New Vehicles and Product Planning, Steve Prangnell says Toyota plans to offer an electrified version in every model globally by 2025.

“Our mantra is to leave no customer behind as we continue to electrify our product. We have seen an increase in consumer attention for hybrid electric vehicles this year, and I expect that to grow in 2022,” he says.

Overall CO2 emissions for the brand have seen considerable reductions as well.

“With the increase of hybrid electric sales, we have also seen our CO2 emissions decrease from 162g/km in 2020 to 158g/km in 2021. This is a significant 3% decrease for the year,” he says.

Toyota has also achieved a 14% emissions reduction from its fleet in the past five years, one of the highest from the automotive industry. The introduction in 2022 of the battery electric bZ4X SUV is expected to further reduce the company’s average emissions.

“Our most popular vehicle for 2021 remained the Hilux with 8,427 units sold,” says Steve.

“We will continue to provide a variety of vehicles and powertrains to suit all our customer needs as we look to lower our emissions. Even with the Hilux, from the old generation to the new one there was a 6% decrease in CO2 emissions.”

“Customers can still improve their carbon footprint by moving to the next newest vehicle,” he says.

The RAV4 hybrid electric was the second highest seller with 4,598 units registered out of a total of 6,215 RAV4s. The world’s biggest selling vehicle, the Corolla, continue to sell well in 2021 with 1,988 hybrid electric and 2,780 petrol-only models sold in New Zealand.

Other strong sellers in 2021 for Toyota New Zealand were the Hiace van (2,455 units) and the AA Driven Car of the Year, the GR Yaris with 118 units secured by super-hot hatch aficionados.