Toyota's biggest selling hybrid isn't the Prius

From Green Car Reports:

The top-selling Toyota hybrid vehicle in the U.S. over the past year wasn’t part of the Prius family.
In 2019, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid wins that crown. According to Toyota’s 2019 year-end sales summary, released Friday, Toyota sold 92,525 RAV4 Hybrid SUVs to U.S. buyers in 2019, versus just 69,718 Toyota Prius Liftback models.

Going all the way back to the debut of Toyota’s hybrid system in the 2000 Prius, it's the first year that another hybrid model outsold the Prius.

It’s not clear, of course, whether this is Toyota’s doing, via deciding product mix, or a matter of consumer demand for hybrids in one form waxing and another waning. But the concern about the Corolla Hybrid cannibalizing Prius sales wouldn't have helped it take the lead; Corolla Hybrid and Prius sales combined (including Prime) still didn't add up to RAV4 Hybrid numbers.

Long ago, Toyota stated clearly that its intent with its hybrid system was to move it from the niche Prius into its mainstream lineup and “go big” with it there, while the Prius would continue to be a technology harbinger in other ways, if it continued.

Toyota just hasn’t moved the Prius on to the next logical step—which might be a plug-in hybrid with an especially long electric range, or perhaps a vehicle that gets aggressive with solar supplementation. While there’s a plug-in Toyota Prius Prime model in the sidelines, there’s also a 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime model on the way later this year—with considerably more electric miles.

With RAV4 sales of all versions totaling 448,071 in 2019—the top-selling model in Toyota’s entire lineup—that also figures to hybrids making up more than 20 percent.

I was surprised by how small the cost difference between the RAV4 and its hybrid sister was—just US$2200.  The hybrid version gets 41 mpg (5.7 litres per 100 km) vs about 25 mpg for the petrol version (9.4 litres per 100 km). (Some reports give lower mpg for the hybrid RAV4.) This means that if you want to make a difference to your carbon footprint, you can buy the hybrid version of the RAV4, reduce your carbon emissions, and over the life of the car save money. 

Even better, Toyota plans a plug-in hybrid version later this year.  It seems Toyota has finally decided to hedge its bets about hydrogen fuel-celled cars, and start introducing electrified versions.  This will allow you to charge your car up overnight in the garage, use mostly electric power for the day's driving, but also have the range for long distance.  Unless you can spring for a Tesla, this makes a lot of sense for those of us who want to reduce our emissions.  I'll probably be buying one myself.  One day.