TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it has sold more than 2 million hybrid vehicles in Japan since 1997 when its first hybrid hit the Japanese market, buoyed by robust sales of such hybrids as the Prius and Aqua passenger cars.
The automaker sold roughly 1.03 million hybrid cars globally in the January to October period, boosting its total hybrid sales since 1997 to 4.6 million vehicles as of the end of October, it said.
Hybrid cars have increased in popularity, with Toyota's Aqua compact hybrid which debuted in December last year becoming the top-selling car in Japan in October. The automaker's Prius, another popular hybrid, had remained the best seller for 16 straight months through September.
Toyota currently sells 20 hybrid models in around 80 countries and regions, comprising about 14 percent of its global auto sales. In the domestic market, sales of hybrid cars account for around 40 percent of Toyota's total sales, it said.
The automaker plans to introduce 20 hybrid models by the end of 2015 in the global market.
Global sales of Toyota's hybrid vehicles topped 4 million units in May.
