Toyota Prius milestone: 1 million U.S. sales since 2000 debut

The Toyota Prius, introduced in the United States 11 years ago as the first mass-produced gas-electric hybrid vehicle, has reached 1 million units in sale, the automaker announced.

It is the third milestone for Toyota’s hybrid lineup in the last six months. Last October, global sales of Toyota Prius surpassed two million. And in February this year, overall global Toyota hybrid sales surpassed three million.

“Since the Prius went on sale eleven years ago not a year has gone by when it hasn’t been the number one selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S,” said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager.

The third-generation Prius topped the EPA’s list of the Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles for 2011. It has been named the Best Overall Value of the Year for the last nine years in a row by IntelliChoice, and has the highest owner loyalty of any mid-size vehicle for four of the last five years according to R.L. Polk.  More than 97 percent of all Toyota Prii sold since 2000 are still on the road.

In January 2011 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota debuted the Prius v, the first vehicle to be debuted as part of the Prius family marketing strategy.

Prius v, which goes on sale in third quarter of 2011, is a mid-size vehicle that provides more than 50 percent additional interior cargo space than the current Prius.

In early 2012 Prius will launch two more Prius family members – the Prius c compact hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle.