Hybrid sales, including the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, across the Toyota brand rose 26 percent in 2019 to 230,889, while Lexus’ hybrid sales jumped 43 percent to 43,661 last year.
Toyota believes more consumers will be willing to choose more-expensive optional hybrid powertrains in coming years, especially when stacked against the coming onslaught of range-limited battery-electric alternatives.
Toyota’s original hybrid, the Prius, did not fare well in 2019, despite the introduction of the awd version to help sales in cold-weather states. Prius sales were down more than 20 percent in 2019 to 69,718 — the lowest annual total since Toyota dealers sold 53,991 copies of the hybrid in 2004.
A year ago, Toyota executives admitted that falling Prius sales were a result, in part, of Prius owners moving toward full-electric vehicles such as the Tesla Model 3. Toyota has attempted to convince consumers that modern hybrids can be sporty and fun to drive and is making inroads on the messaging, Hollis said.
“We’re doing our part to educate our guests and dealers about the incredible benefits hybrid and electrification ownership can bring, because our hybrid vehicles today are a completely different breed,” Hollis said. “They’re some of the quickest and most powerful vehicles we have in our lineup, and they’re only getting better.”The redesigned RAV4 hybrid accounted for 44,401 of the added 48,038 hybrids the Toyota brand sold in the U.S. during 2019 and helped push overall sales of the industry’s top-selling crossover up 4.9 percent for the year to 448,071. In 2019, one of every five RAV4s sold in the United States was a hybrid, nearly double the take rate from 2018.
Meanwhile, Lexus’ hybrid sales also rose sharply in 2019, up 43 percent to 43,661 vehicles, or about one in every seven Lexus vehicles sold in 2019.
“Our hybrid portfolio ran the show [in 2019],” said David Christ, group manager of the U.S. Lexus division.
