Published on January 15th, 2016 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez
0Close to a quarter of the Toyotas sold in Europe last year were hybrids
Toyota Motor Europe (TME) reported its annual sales for calendar year 2015 today, and despite the lowest petrol prices in 5 years, its sales of hybrid vehicles have continued their 5-year increase to reach 209,000 units, up 17% year-on-year. Sales of Toyota and Lexus-branded hybrid vehicles now represent 24% of the group’s sales on the continent, up from 20% a year ago. In Western Europe only, sales of hybrid represent a third of total sales.
Within those hybrid sales, the Yaris hybrid recorded sales of 72,000 in 2015, up 23% versus last year, proving that hybrid technology is accessible even on a B-segment vehicle. More than one in three Yaris sold in Europe is a hybrid. The new Auris hybrid also did extremely well with an increase of 12% year-on-year at 78,500 sales. More than half of all Auris sold by Toyota are hybrid. For the Lexus premium brand, hybrid sales increased by 24% to reach 41,000 units. Lexus Hybrid Drive vehicles make up 64% of total Lexus sales across the continent, and reach 96% of sales in Western Europe alone.
Overall sales of Toyota and Lexus vehicles reached 874,000 units in 2015 (-1.5%)
TME’s sales results reflect two trends last year:
- sustained growth in Western Europe (+7%) and Central Europe (+18%).
- a decline in sales in Eastern Europe (Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and the Caucasus region) in line with the very strong market decline (-36%)
The group’s overall market share stood at 4.6%. Sales of European produced Toyota vehicles increased by 27,000 units (+5%) and now represent 71% of the total sales (+6% points versus last year)
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The new AYGO reached 89,000 sales, a 26% increase year-on-year, continuing to perform strongly in its second year post launch. The newly redesigned Yaris increased sales by 11% to 201,000 units. The new Auris and Avensis, both updated in 2015, have been well received, with 142,000 sales for Auris (stable in a declining segment) and 35,000 sales for Avensis (+17%), with both models’ new interior and exterior designs, and powertrain enhancements earning high praise.
Lexus has achieved its best-ever sales in Europe in 2015. Sales increased by 20% year-on-year to reach nearly 64,000 units. Lexus sales increased in Western Europe by 31%, in Central Europe by 50% and by 1% in Eastern Europe, despite the challenging environment. The market share in those respective regions increased to 1.2% (+0.2% points increase) in Western Europe, 3.6% (+0.8% points) in Central Europe and a record 12.2% (+3% points increase) in Eastern Europe versus last year.