Kian Bhatt

Toyota’s hybrid vehicles are flying off the lots in dealerships nationwide.

Almost 30 years ago, Toyota placed a bold bet on hybrid cars being the future, building their first hybrid in 1977. That bet has paid off. Toyota has projected a record $30.3 billion net profit for the fiscal year, driven by a surge in hybrid vehicle sales across its major markets.

Toyota sold about 3.4 million hybrid vehicles in 2023, an increase from 2.6 million the previous year. Toyota executive Yoichi Miyazaki believes that figure will likely rise to 5 million by around 2025. 

Toyota also clocked its most significant growth in North America during the nine months through December, where sales volume climbed 17% over the same period a year earlier. 

Toyota maintained its position as the world’s largest carmaker by vehicle sales in 2023, since it sold 11.2 million vehicles globally during the year. Behind them was Volkswagen, which sold about 9.2 million vehicles.

A growing market

The growth of hybrid sales last year outpaced the sales for pure electric vehicles in the U.S. and some other markets. As Toyota had previously warned, there are indications suggesting that the electric vehicle push didn’t account for U.S. consumers’ concerns about charging issues and increased costs. As an alternative, many consumers have steered toward less expensive hybrids, which can be filled with gasoline and charged electrically. 

According to data from Edmunds, Hybrid sales grew 63% from the previous year, while E.V. sales were up 51%. About 1.4 million hybrid vehicles were sold in the U.S. last year, compared with 1.1 million E.V.s.

Expansion

Since 2021, Toyota says it has set aside $17 billion in new investments in its U.S. production facilities to accelerate the electrification of its sites.

With the growing demand for hybrid vehicles, Toyota also announced plans to increase investment to a total of $1.3 billion for battery electric vehicles at its largest U.S. plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. The new investment will be in preparation for the production of a large electric SUV and will increase Toyota’s total investment to almost $10 billion since its arrival in Kentucky in 1988.