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Prius marks one millionth sale in the United States
April 7th, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Toyota has announced that it sold its one millionth Prius in the U.S., a confirmation of the car's standing as the world's leading hybrid vehicle. Last October, worldwide sales of the Prius passed two million.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "Since the Prius went on sale eleven years ago, not a year has gone by when it hasn't been the No. 1-selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S," Bob Carter, Toyota vice president and general manager, said in a prepared statement.
Rising fuel prices has further driven demand for the Prius, even as supplies were briefly interrupted by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, where the car is manufactured.
Prius "paved the way for hybrids [and] has accounted for more than 60% of hybrid passenger car sales so far this year," Carter said. The third-generation Prius topped the EPA's list of the most fuel efficient vehicles for 2011.
Earlier this year, General electric, or GE declared this week that it will buy 25,000 electric vehicles for its fleet through 2015 in the "largest-ever" purchase of electric cars. GE will begin with a purchase of 12,000 Chevy Volts from General Motors Co. The purchases will begin in 2011, said GE.
GE has a current fleet of 30,000 vehicles which are used by GE employees in their line of business. The manufacturer said it "will add other [electric] vehicles as manufacturers bring them to market."
GE says they are uniquely positioned to bring the electric vehicles into the mainstream, due to GE's size and technology. GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said the purchase will help to "move electric vehicles from anticipation to action."
"Wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles will also drive clean energy innovation, strengthen energy security and deliver economic value," he said.