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We came across this old new article published in The Ulster Gazette in May 2000, titled ‘World’s first mass-production hybrid car the Toyota Prius'
It's amazing to see how far it has come since then, we thought we'd take a look back in time to where it all started with the Toyota Prius.
1997: The Toyota Prius domestic launch in Japan was in late 1997.
1998: Sales in Japan proved very successful and the Prius won Japan’s Car of the year award, prompting Toyota to move further afield with their hybrid car.
2000: Mass-production begins after more than 40,000 units had been sold and production increased to 3,000 per month. The Toyota Prius was launched in the UK market and a 5 year mechanical warranty was introduced.
2003: More than 123,000 unites had been sold and production of the first generation of the Prius ended.
2004: The second generation was released, it was faster and more powerful and yet cleaner and more economical than ever before. By the end of 2004, growth continues to spike and capacity was increased to 180,000 units per year.
2015: The fourth generation Prius was unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Now with Hybrid options available in the most popular Toyota vehicles such as the Toyota Yaris, Auris, Rav4 and C-HR.There’s a Hybrid to suit everyone. Click Here to view the Toyota Hybrid range.
So, just how far has Hybrid come since it’s initial UK launch in May 2004? Well, since then 10 million people have switched to Toyota Hybrid. Whats more, they are built to last - with 90% of all Toyota Hybrids ever sold, still on today’s roads.
With plans for all sales of petrol and diesel cars to cease in the UK by 2040, it’s now time to start thinking about making the switch.
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