Prius a real winner | Motornet.ie

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Prius a real winner

Friday, July 23, 2010

I might not have liked it, but there is no doubt that despite its trying experience earlier this year in America, the Toyota Prius is still making considerable ground for the company here in Europe.

Celebrating the anniversary of its first decade on the European market, the car has shown a dramatic acceleration in sales performance.

With cumulative European sales of Prius topping the 100,000 mark in May 2008, the figure has now doubled to 200,000 in just two years. And Toyota says global sales of Prius are expected to exceed 2 million units by the autumn of 2010.

Launched in Japan in 1997, the first generation Prius became the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle available on the European market in 2000. Launched in Ireland in 2001, there are now over 2,200 Prius on Irish roads.

Voted Car of the Year by European, Japanese and American motoring journalists, the Prius has won numerous highly prestigious awards.

Its Hybrid Synergy Drive is one of the most successful powertrains in the history of the International Engine of the Year awards, with a total of 11 titles to date.

Prius has been consistently ahead of its time in addressing environmental issues, leading the field in the pursuit of improved fuel efficiency and a reduction in CO2, NOX and particulate emissions.

The last decade has witnessed a fall in the fuel consumption of its Hybrid Synergy Drive® powertrain of more than 23% and a reduction in CO2 emissions of almost 26% from 120 g/km to just 89 g/km. Yet system power has simultaneously increased by 30%.

Three generations of Prius have not only seen significant improvements to successive evolutions of its Hybrid Synergy Drive® powertrain, but also a marked change in customer perceptions of full hybrid technology.

Best-in-market CO2 emissions and combined cycle fuel economy of 3.9 l/100 km offer Prius customers significant, pan-European tax incentives and exceptionally low running costs.