The Financial Times reports that the rapidly rising petrol price will help boost sales of petrol-electric hybrids in Europe next year, according to Toyota, owner of the Lexus car brand.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

It expects hybrids to make up a quarter of all Lexus vehicles sold in Europe in 2006. The expected boom in hybrid sales comes as interest in fuel-efficient hybrids is rocketing in the US, the biggest car market.


The expected rise in European sales shows Toyota is confident of overcoming Europe’s preference for diesel engines. “More and more vehicles from now on will be hybrid,” said Takis Athansopoulos, executive vice-president of Toyota Europe, in the FT report.


Toyota is already forecasting that sales of its Prius hybrid in Europe will double to more than 20,000 units this year.


However, Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota president, sounded a cautious note over the company’s goal of selling 1m hybrid cars a year by 2010, saying that he aimed for the “early part of the 2010s”.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

This year, global sales should come close to 250,000, behind the previous target of 300,000 due to shortages of production capacity. Toyota said earlier this week it would expand capacity for vital hybrid components that are in short supply.


Mr Watanabe said there had been no noticeable change in buying habits in the past month as fuel prices have reached record levels, echoing comments from several other motor industry chief executives gathered at the Frankfurt motor show.


But Volkswagen, the German manufacturer, said it had seen a marked increase in demand for diesel-powered cars in the US, which has traditionally been resistant to the fuel-efficient engines, the FT said.