Toyota Ireland is dropping petrol-only options from almost all its models, and going - almost - entirely hybrid for its Irish line-up.
Corolla and C-HR drop petrol-only options
The move comes a year on from Toyota swearing off diesel sales, and is in response to growing sales in Ireland for the company's hybrid line-up. Buyers, it seems, are keen on the half-battery approach. Models left in the range for those apparently more conservative buyers - the 1.2 turbo petrol versions of the C-HR and Corolla, and the 1.6-litre petrol offered in the Corolla saloon - will be dropped.
90 per cent of Toyota buyers go hybrid
Toyota has already seen major successes for its hybrid line-ups in Ireland. The Corolla is currently Ireland's best-selling car, and more than 87 per cent of its buyers are choosing hybrid, while 90 per cent of C-HR buyers go hybrid. Other line-ups including the Camry and RAV4 ranges are already entirely hybridised, with no 'normal' petrol or diesel options.
"The numbers don't lie"
Steve Tormey, Toyota Ireland CEO, commented: "As evidenced by the massive swing in preference towards self-charging hybrid over pure petrol-powered cars that we have seen with Corolla, I am confident that if all other motoring manufacturers offered a full range of hybrids, Ireland's environmental outlook would immediately be a lot rosier than it currently looks. Our self-charging hybrids, which are exclusively automatic, have many advantages including excellent fuel efficiency, low NOX and drive in zero emissions mode more than 60 per cent of the time, making them the ideal next step towards electrification for environmentally and cost-conscious drivers.
"Some might say this is a brave move given the perceived market dependency on pure fossil fuel powered cars, but for us the decision to double down on self-charging hybrid over petrol makes absolute sense. The numbers don't lie, and we now know that if you offer highly desirable looking and high-performing self-charging hybrids they will win out over petrol every time. Next year, we predict that 92 per cent of our passenger car sales will be self-charging hybrid across all models."
It doesn't quite mean that the Toyota Ireland line-up will be entirely hybrid of course. The base versions of both the Yaris and Aygo will retain their 1.0-litre VVTi petrol engines, and the Supra will keep its BMW-based 340hp straight-six turbo engine. Plus the Land Cruiser, Proace and HiLux models will retain their commercial-friendly diesel powerplants.