Toyota Motor Company’s position as the world biggest producer of hybrid vehicles is further reinforced as the global sales of Toyota and Lexus car pass 4 million units in April 2012. That is a remarkable achievement, considering they only started making production hybrids in 2000, and the global market has not yet fully embraced this type of vehicle.

Europe, the green continent, alone is responsible for 423,000 units, while UK as one of the biggest markets for hybrid cars accounts for about 94,000.

Even though their first hybrid car was the 1997  Coaster Hybrid EV bus, Toyota’s hybrid empire began with the Prius which was launched  in December, 1997 in Japan, and  in Europe,North America and elsewhere in 2000. It wasn’t until 2003 and the second-gen Prius that the car was etched into the public’s consciousness thanks to a number of celebrities like Cameron Diaz and Leo Di Caprio who bought it.

The third-generation Prius launched in May 2009 is the most successful version yet, mainly because it looks less weird than its predecessors and offers better efficiency. It leads the global cumulative sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles topping 3 million vehicles by the end of February, 2011.

Lexus has also played a fair part in Toyota’s hybrid success, offering small volume luxury hybrid cars.