Toyota Motor Corp. said it has sold more than 1 million gasoline-electric hybrid cars, five times as many as its nearest competitor, since it introduced the Prius in 1997.
The company had sold 1.047 million hybrid vehicles, including the Prius and Lexus LS600h, as of May 31, it said Thursday.
Demand for hybrid cars is helping Toyota's sales gain in the United States, the world's largest auto market, because higher fuel costs prompt consumers to pick more fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids. Toyota plans to sell 1 million hybrid cars annually in the early 2010s.
Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-largest automaker, had sold 196,000 hybrid vehicles as of March 31 after releasing its first model in 1999.
Sales of Toyota's most popular hybrid car, the Prius, tripled to a record 24,009 last month in the United States. The surge helped Toyota sell 269,023 cars and light trucks in May, a record for the month.
