Toyota GR lineup outsold Prius in Europe last year
In 2023, Toyota sold 1,173,419 vehicles. Some of them were more fun than others...
Toyota Motor Europe enjoyed its most successful year ever in 2023, selling 1,173,419 units. That includes Lexus and Toyota Professional, yes, but is still a huge amount of vehicles: up 9 per cent on 2022, and representing a 6.7 per cent market share. The industry might be in a state of flux, though there’s little doubt that Toyota remains a huge player.
There are some predictable results, of course. Europe loves an SUV, so it should be little surprise to find that the Yaris Cross (195,569) was the biggest seller; the standard Yaris (166,925) and the entire Corolla range (181,094) are also among the very high volume stuff. The remaining trio in Toyota’s top six were all SUVs: C-HR (117,552), Aygo X (90,582) and the RAV4 (87,582).
But there are plenty of surprises, too. Lexus sales were up a substantial 46 per cent to 73,637 units, again with SUVs leading the charge: there were 25,709 NXes sold, 18,747 UXes and 15,529 RXes. With hybrid, plug-in and electric options, electrified cars accounted for 64,439 cars of Lexus’s total. And the fondness for both SUVs and battery assistance has definitely come at the expense of the other cars in line up: just 71 IS saloons were sold, 133 LSes (including five without hybridisation), and 68 RC coupes. Pleasingly, the wonderful LC GT is doing a tad better, at 371 cars, with the majority (328) powered by the 5.0-litre V8.
Finally, it’s true: Toyota really did sell more Gazoo Racing cars than Priuses in Europe last year. That’s the proper stuff, too - the Supra, 86 and Yaris - not just the badge on the back of a C-HR. Much of that can be explained by the fact that the GR86 won't be made for much longer, so there’s every incentive to get them to customers - plus the imminent arrival this year of that snazzy new Prius (and the wealth of electrified options out there) - but there’s no escaping the numbers.
Across the Prius Family (2,755), Prius (126) and Prius Plug-In Hybrid (2,629), there were 5,510 sold across Europe. Whereas strong sales for the 86 (4,041) and Yaris (2,454), plus a few more on top from the Supra (939), meant 7,434 GR cars reached owners. Which feels like a decent return for niche enthusiast cars, hopefully vindicating Toyota’s decision to go ahead with them (fun fact: the Supra outsold the Mirai, which probably says something too). We know Toyota is keen intent on building the Yaris for as long as possible; fingers crossed at least one sports car can continue as well.
Yoshihiro Nakata, President and CEO of TME, said: “We are very pleased with another strong sales performance which marks an all-time record in our sales region. We have introduced several new zero and low-emission electrified vehicles as part of our multi-path strategy to offer customers the solution which best meets their needs, among them, the all-new Toyota C-HR and Lexus LBX which will provide a further sales boost in 2024. And, as we recently presented, there's more to come with many exciting new zero-emission products in the pipeline that will help us meet our carbon neutrality goals in Europe.”
Tbh - Toyota has never really been on my shopping list over the years…
But I do admire that they have a bit of ‘in your eye’ appeal - especially from the CEO and the way they somewhat challenge the ‘narrative’ on the shift to EV - for ‘seemingly the sake of EV’…
Good for them - diversity is good - right?!
reliable, well built cars.
add the hybrid lexus to the mix which tick both boxes for economy and no long stops are chargers and you've got a great combo.
GR cars are all good too, gr86 is great, gr yaris is great and the supra is good, even if it's expensive and seems to have been taken of sale in uk(but we get special treatment all the time)
LC is a super nice coupe/vert with great styling, epic interior etc.
go toyota.
There's a moral to all this isn't there, and i'm looking at you BMW with your business model that everybody wants 100k cars.
Nope we just want a drivers car that will go to the supermarket and won't cost the earth to run. that's what regular people want.
Also things like the Yaris GR, its still bat s
te crazy what they did with that car, all that tech and development for a £30k grandmas's hatchback. Best bit is they are looking like it will continue.There's pride taken in all their cars that the likes of VW and BMW had 30 yrs ago, but is most definitely not there anymore.
Glad I got an 86.
Honda still in the game, albeit at a very high price point with the new Type R. I'm doubtful it will occur but wonder if other manufacturers that have dropped their 'Halo' / Hot Hatch cars are re-considering their decisions.
Glad I got an 86.
Now, since the GR range is doing well, can we please get the GR Corolla here too Toyota?
Of the 340 owners who voted the results were
20% Only car
42% One of several vehicles used on a daily basis
37% One of several vehicles but only used occasionally
1% Part of a collection and not normally used
So, from this (limited) survey, the UK is even more extreme in this trend than Europe as a whole with 80% having another vehicle
They have been working on solid state batteries, so perhaps they have taken the pragmatic view that it's better to wait till the technology is ready?
In the meantime we have some cracking ICE to enjoy while we still can...
Tbh - Toyota has never really been on my shopping list over the years…
But I do admire that they have a bit of ‘in your eye’ appeal - especially from the CEO and the way they somewhat challenge the ‘narrative’ on the shift to EV - for ‘seemingly the sake of EV’…
Good for them - diversity is good - right?!
There's a moral to all this isn't there, and i'm looking at you BMW with your business model that everybody wants 100k cars.
Nope we just want a drivers car that will go to the supermarket and won't cost the earth to run. that's what regular people want.
Also things like the Yaris GR, its still bat s
te crazy what they did with that car, all that tech and development for a £30k grandmas's hatchback. Best bit is they are looking like it will continue.There's pride taken in all their cars that the likes of VW and BMW had 30 yrs ago, but is most definitely not there anymore.
In the CTR/50k space you have the Golf R, BMW 135i, A35. I agree they are a little by the numbers to chase volume rather than enthusiasts, but the German's, especially VW are still trying to balance the books after diesel gate.
I mourn the loss of Renault in this space more. That's what happens though when you target enthusiasts and not enough people buy them....
They have been working on solid state batteries, so perhaps they have taken the pragmatic view that it's better to wait till the technology is ready?
In the meantime we have some cracking ICE to enjoy while we still can...
Outside the company car scheme, EV's aren't selling. Hence why the likes of Polestar, Ford, GM, etc are facing troubling times. They're simply not selling in the quantities they need to, and can't be built cheaply enough to make them affordable. Even Tesla had to sharply reduce prices once there profits plunged 44%.
Last time I looked, Porsche had over 600 Taycan's sat unsold. Plus a couple hundred unregistered ones unsold too. Will people rush out and buy the new Macan EV? Company users, probably. Private users, probably not. And how well will a pure EV Cayman & Boxter sell? Probably not very well.
VW are also struggling with EV's too, so the whole VAG group could also be in serious trouble. Maybe Toyota have played it right. When big manufacturers need Government bailouts to survive or go bust, Toyota may well be standing tall. Just not in Europe if silly £15,000 fines are dished out for every ICE car.
If big manufacturers do start going under, the implications will be huge for every dealership, supply chains, and customers. No more warranty, parts etc.
But at least we can say EV's are clean. Obviously, ignoring the fact that building them, is anything but clean.
Glad I got an 86.
Now, since the GR range is doing well, can we please get the GR Corolla here too Toyota?
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