One million Toyota Hybrids sold!

What a milestone! One million Toyota Hybrids have been sold. We congratulate Toyota and hope they keep innovating - go Kaizen!

Toyota Motor Corp.'s cumulative sales of gas-and-electric-powered vehicles totaled 1.047 million as of the end of May. Of those, nearly 345,000 hybrids were sold in Japan, while 702,000 were sold abroad, the company said in a statement.

The Prius is the clear leader, with a total of 757,600 units sold since its 1997 introduction in Japan. Toyota began selling the Prius in North America, Europe and other places in 2000. Last year, the model made up more than 40 percent of hybrid sales in the U.S.

Demand for hybrids, which deliver superior mileage by switching between a gasoline engine and electric motor, has soared amid higher oil prices and greater consumer concern about pollution and global warming.

SustainaBee says: This is great - what a big step Toyota has achieved! But they should be wary what's around the corner, electric cars are gaining momentum and it seems that there are several who want to join the electric cars race - a competition which should benefit the environment.