Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales of Prius hybrids reached a record in March and in the first quarter, propelled by higher gasoline prices and two new models.

Toyota, the largest seller of gasoline-electric autos, sold more than 25,000 units of the Prius “family” now comprised of a plug-in Prius and c subcompact, along with the original hatchback and v wagon, Bob Carter, group vice president of U.S. sales, said in an e-mail Monday. The previous monthly best for Prius was May 2007, when it delivered 24,009 units.

“Fuel economy remains a top purchase consideration among consumers, and we are pleased with the continued response to Toyota’s lineup,” Carter said in the e-mail.

The fast start for the world’s top-selling alternative powertrain car keeps Toyota on track to meet a goal of 220,000 Prius sales in the U.S. this year, up from 136,463 in 2011. Prius accounts for half of U.S. hybrid sales, and a shortage of the car last year due to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami cut industrywide deliveries of hybrids to about 273,000 units from about 275,000 a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Hybrid sales typically track the cost of gasoline, rising in line with pump price increases. Regular grade gasoline cost an average of $3.93 a gallon on April 1, up from $3.28 at the end of last year, according to “AAA”’s Daily Fuel Gauge. (Bloomberg)











First-Quarter Record



Prius and the Prius c are rated as delivering an average of 80 kilometers per gallon in combined city and highway driving by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Prius v wagon averages 42 mpg and the plug-in Prius, able to go as far as 15 miles on electricity alone, is rated as getting 95 mpg- equivalent when drivers frequently recharge the lithium-ion battery pack, according to the EPA.

First-quarter Prius sales surpassed 57,000, based on the company’s estimate for March. The model’s best previous quarter was April-June 2007, said Celeste Migliore, a spokeswoman for the company’s U.S. sales unit in Torrance, California.

Toyota and other automakers report complete sales results for March later Tuesday. The Toyota City, Japan-based company may report a 15 percent increase in sales from a year ago, the average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Toyota’s American depositary receipts fell 0.1 percent to $86.69 Monday in New York. 

(Bloomberg)