Toyota sells 10,000th Prius in Australia

By Alborz Fallah | August 13th, 2008

Following yesterday’s story of Big V8s being here to stay, Toyota has announced today that a young couple has bought the 10,000th Toyota Prius to be officially sold in Australia.

The new owners, David Balkin (Information technology manager) and partner Shannon Larkin bought the petrol-electric Prius hybrid because it “supported their lifestyle”.

“With petrol around $1.60 a litre, it costs us about $70 to fill the tank – and we’ve been getting about 900 kilometres from that without running empty.” Mr Balkin said

Although only 10,000 of the iconic hybrid cars have been sold in Australia to date, there are more than one million Prius owners around the globe with the majority of sales going to the US, making the Prius the world’s best-selling hybrid car.

Toyota Australia says local sales of the Prius have risen solidly every single year, with an increase of 10 per cent so far this year.

The benefits of the Prius are still disputed by some, given the cost of production for many of the car’s components. However the Big T is set to release an all new Prius model in the next 12 months to answer some of the criticism.

The hybrid Toyota uses just 4.4-litres of regular unleaded fuel to travel 100km – making it the most fuel efficient true five-seater car sold in Australia. The Prius also has the lowest CO2 emissions of any car sold in Australia, with just 106 grams of CO2 emitted per km.

Toyota Australia also recently announced it will build a hybrid Camry at its Altona manufacturing plant in Melbourne from 2010. The company plans to have a hybrid variant for every single model in order to achieve the global goal of one million hybrid sales per year during the 2010s.

slugger

Wow…wouldn’t have thought there were that many people silly enough to fall for the Prius. I get it when people put their nose in the air and say ‘we’re doing it for the environment, not the money…’ but there are cheaper diesels that will do roughly the same.

Am I the only person who thinks this? Even a Hyundai i30 diesel must be better than this plonker of a car…
Austin

On behalf of many of the people who regularly visit this site, I offer my sincerest condolences to the new owners and wish them better luck with future car purchases.
AC COBRA

Still looks and drives like a golf cart, amazes me why people are fooled to buy such overrated junk. ahh yes I forgot Toyoda’s advertising can fool anyone.
Myke

Why should any individual pay double the price for a Corolla sized car with a smaller engine? If people are that snobby about ‘saving the environment’ they should be walking everywhere.
AC COBRA

No congrats from me, 10,000 Priass’s is 10,000 aussie’s driving ugly golf carts that are no more economical than a diesel.
twistedfirey

Now if only we could get the 10,000 suckers to line their poxy prius cars in a row and then get a few Hummers to run over the top of them for sport…
o

sil li wonder if they know alto about cars though.900km sounds like alot even from a prious. and man does it look fat in that picture
AC COBRA

Yeah FAT AND UGLY, golf carts are reserved only for a handful of mother’s unjust love.
Reckless1

“suits their lifestyle”

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

But we shouldn’t laugh at those with low IQ, should we?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Carl

Slugger…..totally agree that a car like the i30 diesel makes more sense than the petrol Priarse BUT i got the impression that this couple likes and maybe NEEDS to be able to brag to their poor friends and relatives that they drive a “HYBRID” !!!!!!!
No Name

Prius – A car when no real green credentials sold by Toyota a company conning people out of there money for this. 10,000 suckers me thinks. Articles I have read prove the Prius does not get the economy stated under normal driving conditions.
Cme on Alborz take one on these on the trip you did in the Commie SS and prove us all wrong.
Dlr1

what’s wrong with a car that can do 900km for $70? I don’t care whether its diesel or LPG or Hydrogen.. whatever. there’s a finite amount of crude oil on this planet, and if we haven’t reached peak oil yet, it cant be far away so if Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai or any other manufacturer want to come up with a vehicle that uses less fuel and costs less to fill up then i’m all for that. Doesn’t mean that i’d buy one, but at least there’s a choice.
Carl

Gt2000……..what sort of a wanker buys a small cramped petrol car like the Priarse to use as a taxi when this country has so much LPG at under 60 cents a litre????
realcars

I get why Toyota makes these things so ugly for Greenies that want bragging rights but couldn’t they make a nicer looking Prius and put a big Hybrid badge on it.LOL.

AS for 500,000klms I’m using the TP excuse that Taxis have an easier life.LOL.
realcars

Coke cans are made of Al. Better than all the toxic heavy metals in the batteries.

Why F&&k around with a Toyota Dogem car when BMW IC Hydrogen is on it’s way. Will make the Fugly dogem Prius redundant hopefully.

Only prob is where will they bury the batteries.LOL
SamR

I ain’t that bad guys

The Prius is apparently well made and durable (The taxi story a few weeks ago was impressive). It gets very very good fuel economy.

What’s not to like for a city runabout?

THE PRICE!!! that’s what!!

You will never get your money back BUT if they can reduce the cost premium for a hybid way way down then I think they will be a great city car.

I will by one at the right price but a plug in hybrid sounds even better.
Carl

Realcars…..Spot on but not only is the Prius just for posers it is totally inadequate for use as a taxi especially in north Queensland where stop/start traffic isn’t as bad as Sydney or Melbourne, also tall people like me would have quite an unpleasant trip in the back seat of a car the size of that thing and finally i pay 57.9 cents for gas consistently here in Sydney so the petrol Prius doesn’t even make good business sense!!!!

As for the i30 being a crap car…..that just shows how ignorant people that buy the Prius are!!!!!
au_prius

May I suggest that people visit a site like priuschat.com and get yourselves some real information and the experiences of thousands of SATISFIED Hybrid car owners about hybrids, before you jump to conclusions?
greenroom

Prius ……. Wank-tanks…….Shitemobiles.
Bret

This story is a bit missleading (but no surprise there – it IS just a Toyota media release).
With almost 8 out of every 10 Prius’ going to Govt or business fleets, thats realy only about 2000 private Lemmings
realcars

I think I’ll go make myself a Decafe Latte before I venture onto the Prius site.LOL SNORT LOL SNORT.

Hey Reckless One don’t u know that the “Intelligencia” are buying these things?LOL.
Golfschwein

Good idea, Realcars. A skinny decaf soy latte with a twist of lemon should be just the ticket. Mmm mmm mmm.
acilk

“But we shouldn’t laugh at those with low IQ, should we?”

You do what you want Reckless but don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. I shall continue to laugh at said people no matter what you say!
openmind

Wow what a load of silly comments. (sounds nearly as bad a ford fan blog) Have any of you naysayers actually tried a Prius or is it to easy to bag new ideas without trying them. YES the new technology is still expensive – as where airbags stabitility control and most current everyday items where when they where launched. While I agree the Prius is butt ugly I actually drove one, and couldn’t believe how impressed with it I was. It was just like a ‘real’ car, the hitch was being so incredibly smooth it was hard to keep it down to the speed limit. Open your minds to something new, your current method of transport have a very limited use by date left on it!
Joober

“as where airbags stabitility control and most current everyday items where when they where launched” thats the problem mindman, it was a new era mobil 10 years ago, but in this day and age, why is it still the same car?
openmind

joober – it is currently the 2nd model, the all new 3 rd model comes out next year
Austin

haha first thing I saw at priuschat.com was an ad for a new TT….
No Name

So a million prius cars in ten years is a success. Bear in mind Skoda sold 2.5 million fabias in 5 years. Now thats success.
jeremy

you lot need to google “global warming” and “diesel ultrafine particles”, and maybe look at some boats while you are there, and also put some zinc on your necks
twistedfirey

Yep the earth is getting closer to the sun, maybe another tax will fix that too…
Carl

Jeremy…..I’ll google the green hoax effect if you google benzine and the the toxic process of making all the Priarse batteries….OK?????
AC COBRA

The Priass is not exactly that green, people forget this golf gart has an engine, needs petrol and toxic battery acid etc etc to make the 4 wheels turn and apparenty to build one causes more pollution than a normal manufactured car, sorry Jeremy no HIPPY tree hugging yet for me, when you peel the layer’s of Toyoda advertising truth behold this very expensive Priass is no better compared to any diesel, petrol or LPG vehicle.

Until car’s are powered by a Hydrogen fuel cell, all this old tech Hybrid crap can go to bed, CA please no more adverts for expensive Priass, its now beyond acceptable and irritating.

Remember, Priass will alway’s polute the air if you think it doesn’t, well what can anybody say except > FOOL’S BREED FOOL’S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No Name

Jeremy – also google petrol exhaust fumes. Apparently the particles are finer than diesel, I would therefore suggest they can penetrate the lung tissues further than the larger diesel type. Yep 16 chemicals toxic to humans to be found in petrol.
jeremy

yes Carl, there are issues with the making of the batteries for the Prius, I don’t know about the Civic though. I guess it’s best to stick with clean green petrol, no environment has been harmed from the mining, transport or storage of it. I like fast cars as much as the next homo sapiens, but I find it hard to breathe through sand.
Toyota are overated junk

To the poster that said i30 falls apart after 40000km!!! Hahahahahaha!!! You are kidding. Another Toymotor fanboy at work…
Dean

How gullible are Prius owners falling for Toyota’s brain-washing.
This car is more environmentally unfriendly than a Hummer.
Their batteries are still a biohazard for generations after the car is past it’s used by date while regular petrol powered cars are more then 98% recyclable.
Every time I see a Prius driver on the road I think to myself you poor misguided sole.
Toyota Prius’s are now a scurge on our roads and should exposed for the real long term damage they are causing.
Carl

If Hummers get eggs thrown at them by militant greenies then normal people should throw tofu at these ghastly things!!!
Mac

What a load a crap is spread on this site.

Look – if some one wants to buy a Hybrid, there choice. Are they over priced, yes. Should they be used to cruise highways, no. Are they useful for congested cities, yes. Lower emissions and they don’t suffer clogged particulate filters etc that diesel cars have when used in stop start traffic in cities.

The Prius is now 5 years old and you are comparing it to brand new diesel technologies – which have come on in leaps and bounds in the last few years. It still puts out less CO2 than a Hyundai i30 and has very low NO, HC and particle emissions – something diesels don’t if they are stuck in traffic. Have a look at London, highest level of diesel pollutants in the atmosphere of anywhere.

Oh by the way, hybrids use NiMH batteries – no heavy metals present – no battery acids. They are not biohazards (they are not living for god’s sake) and are able to be easily recycled.

Have an opinion by all means but don’t speak crap you don’t know about.
jeremy

wow, some sense at last, everything you said is true Mac, yes the worst polluters are the lead acid batteries, that “worse than a Hummer” line is from a “study” which gave the life of a Prius as 160,000 km, I think it’s pretty clear that they go longer than that. it’s so tiring hearing people quote things they don’t really understand to justify their hedonism/laziness/decadence. Eventually we will all come around, but most likely too late me thinks.
Bret

DingoGt.002 – nice to see you come back without abuse and supported facts – NOT. Hippocrite.

8 out of 10 Prius are fleet purchases, Govt and Business – source VFACTS media report circa mid 2007.
But lets get right to the most recent data, 281/385 are fleet – VFACTS June 2008, thats 73% fleet. And with almost no other Hybrid being bought by fleets, Ptrius fleet percentages are higher.

And BTW June private passenger hybrid sales DOWN 27%, private passenger diesel sales UP 24%
June fleet passenger diesel sales UP 111%
twistedfirey

Why on earth would you buy a Prius. The average weekly running costs are about $50 a week more than a 1.8 Corolla. If you bought a Prius to save money then you are a sucker, If you bought a Prius to save the environment then I just hope that warm fuzzy feeling is worth the $50 a week.
Flying High

Equates to about 10,000 people with NFI…
http://porsche Millatime

Jeremy and Mac,

Sadly, most of these posts canning the Prius are justified. It is rubbish cleverly disguised in marketing hype.

All hybrids allow the manufacturer’s to maintain the status quo whilst actually doing very little to advance green technologies.

Look at what Tesla have achieved with their Roadster, with a minute budget a mere fraction of Toyota’s.

34SQN

Millatime, does that mean Tesla will be bashed by you lot in the future ? You have heard the recent news that Toyota now own a US$50,000,000.00 stake in Tesla Motors, who also have provided factory space to produce the Model S.

The Prius was a very clever mass marketing plan to educate mainstream car buyers, grooming them into Toyota’s next phase of its evolutionary phase, and that is to roll out a number of full EV cars, helped greatly by the best minds in the USA/UK, that made the TESLA a reality. Now that they have one of the biggest car makers on Earth backing them, we will all benefit from that marriage.

Imagine all that instant torque, sub 6 second 0-100kph times as a standard feature on all electric cars, with 450km ( or much more ) range from a 45 minute charge or a 40 second battery swap at a battery station !

This is the future, people ! Embrace the many benefits, Toyota just sweetened the whole deal, via mixing an electric motor, with a consumer familiar e petrolngined car, so it was easiest to digest. I think it was a bloody brilliant exercise, as EV cars would not be where they are right now, if it were not for Toyota and to a lesser extent, GM.

We wont be driving inferior/inefficient NEW petrol cars off the showroom floor in 20-30 years time…..FINALLY !

Fenno

Tis a pity though that Tesla will be forgotten amongst the hype of hydrogen or something else the oil companies can sink their teeth into to stay alive. At least Toyota and honda have made the steps though to mainstream society with a new technology that other manufacturers would have originally shied away from (but are now flocking to in droves with a derivative of their own of some sort).
It’s an initiative that caused the rest of the industry to stop and think.
The prius may be a dud but Toyota and Honda have done a good job on getting the technology accepted
http://porsche Millatime

Fenno

The only thing Toyota and Honda have achieved is to lull gullible greenie communist hippies in particular, and the rest of the motoring public in general, into thinking driving a Prius or Insight is somehow saving the planet and making whales happy. In between feeling superior and looking down their noses they stand at their local Mobil, BP or Shell, just like you and I, and merrily pump evil fossil fuels into their “green alternative energy earth saving machines” then go driving off happily pumping CO2 into the atmosphere just like everyone else.

Hybrid technology simply allows everyone to continue using oil, but now we can all feel good about it cos the motor switches off at the red traffic light.

The oil companies convinced GM to not only discontinue their all electric car, the EV1, but to destroy it. Every example was crushed. The oil companies then bought various battery patents to prevent their use in electric cars.

Tesla may or may not survive, but look at what they have achieved with their all electric Roadster, and with a tiny tiny non existant R&D budget compared to Toyota’s.

So Hybrid’s are a dangerous distraction. There is no dispute that electricity is here to stay. So if Toyota and Honda and others committed their vast resources to developing all electric cars, the few short comings of the Tesla would be overcome very quickly indeed. Tesla have shown that the technology works, and that it exists today, and we could be building thousands of Zero Emission Vehicles to replace cars like Prius.

The fact that Toyota and Honda are condemning us all to another 15 or 20 years of oil burning hybrids with their pollutants and CO2 emissions is at best criminal, at worst insane.

How much does the average household spend on electricity and petrol/diesel/LPG for their cars annually?

What if you came home and “plugged” your car in from the (government subsidised) solar panels on your roof?

What if instead of paying out money for fuel and electricity you are now “plugging” in your car and filling it up from the solar panels on your roof, and then RECEIVING money for putting power back into the grid…

No wonder the oil companies crushed the EV1.
http://. Naughtyius Maxiumus

Hybrid-air cars are the go and leave the old hack technology of hybrids with petrol motor assistance a distant second!

ZPM plans to bring a six-seater air powered car to the US market after competing in the Automotive X Prize race in September 2009. The X Prize offers a US$10 million prize to a marketable vehicle that exceeds a fuel economy of 2.3 litres per 100 kilometres.

The ZPM car runs on compressed air only when travelling under 55 kilometres per hour. At higher speeds, the car burns fuel to warm up the air, expanding it and allowing the vehicle to travel on less air per kilometre. Some of the expanded air also goes back to the air tank, recharging the compressed air supply.

This system can operate at close to 2 litres per 100 kilometres, Vencat says. With a 30 or 38litre fuel tank, the cars should have a range of 1,300 to 1,600 kilometres.

The motor can also be plugged in and operated as a compressor to refill the air tank.

Vencat expects that fuelling stations will arise as the car gains popularity.

“The good thing is you could put a compressed air station on campuses, in malls,” he says. “You don’t have the security situation that you do with gasoline.”

ZPM plans to start a plant to manufacture the cars by late 2010 or early 2011
Crouchy

Information technology manager….
Supported their lifestyle?
What lifestyle? He works in I.T.
Oh thats right, i went there…
>>>>