Toyota Hybrids Outselling All EVs Globally (Still)

Toyota's hybrid sales are steady and have just passed the 10 million milestone globally since inception. The last time that Toyota hit a million-level milestone was in May of 2016. Before that, it was August of 2015. Toyota's average of about one million in hybrid sales in less than a year is now pretty firmly established.

In the full year of 2016, EVs sold just under 800,000 units globally according to Inside Evs. That was up from about a half-million in 2015. EV sales are growing at a good annual clip, but are still not on a 1-million annual pace. With some good luck, and many pallets of government support dollars, EVs could conceivably pass Toyota's hybrid annual sales rate in the coming year or two. Keep in mind we are comparing just one brand's hybrid sales. Factor in Ford, GM, Hyundai, and other brands now moving towards more hybrid models and the EVs look to remain well behind the overall hybrid sales rate indefinitely.

One interesting move that could change this is the new Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. The Prime is considered an EV in sales tallies, not a hybrid. It was the number two EV sold in America last month, topping sales of the Bolt and both Tesla models. Only the Chevy Volt edged it out in sales. As time goes on, we expect the Prime will become the standard Prius and the base hybrid will fade away or be killed off by Toyota. The reason is government incentives. With the federal tax deduction and state incentives, a Prius Prime costs a buyer less than a Prius Hybrid.