There is a growing realisation by customers that diesel is not the answer to everyone's needs but it seems to be happening now, judging by Toyota's latest hybrid sales figures. After some 20 years of promoting hybrid, Toyota's sales of the technology are finally getting real traction in this country. So far this year, the company has sold 140 per cent more hybrids. Some 28 per cent of Auris sales and 23 per cent of Yaris sales have been hybrids.
It is, of course, due to a major sales and marketing initiative by Toyota and its getting the message out clearly to customers that you don't have to plug in a hybrid - it runs itself without any external charging.
Importantly, these figures indicate that people may be tiring of diesel and its associated problems: They are more expensive to buy and because they are driven too much on short journeys, they have expensive problems with clogged diesel particulate filters.
Toyota points out that hybrids are 1) far more fuel efficient (although it is only recently that hybrids have improved to the point where the speed running on an electric motor only has risen sufficiently to make a big difference) and 2) maintenance costs are much lower.
