Toyota GR lineup outsold Prius in Europe last year

Toyota Motor Europe enjoyed its most successful year ever in 2023, selling 1,173,419 units. That includes Lexus and Toyota Professional, yes, but is still a huge amount of vehicles: up 9 per cent on 2022, and representing a 6.7 per cent market share. The industry might be in a state of flux, though there’s little doubt that Toyota remains a huge player. 

There are some predictable results, of course. Europe loves an SUV, so it should be little surprise to find that the Yaris Cross (195,569) was the biggest seller; the standard Yaris (166,925) and the entire Corolla range (181,094) are also among the very high volume stuff. The remaining trio in Toyota’s top six were all SUVs: C-HR (117,552), Aygo X (90,582) and the RAV4 (87,582). 

But there are plenty of surprises, too. Lexus sales were up a substantial 46 per cent to 73,637 units, again with SUVs leading the charge: there were 25,709 NXes sold, 18,747 UXes and 15,529 RXes. With hybrid, plug-in and electric options, electrified cars accounted for 64,439 cars of Lexus’s total. And the fondness for both SUVs and battery assistance has definitely come at the expense of the other cars in line up: just 71 IS saloons were sold, 133 LSes (including five without hybridisation), and 68 RC coupes. Pleasingly, the wonderful LC GT is doing a tad better, at 371 cars, with the majority (328) powered by the 5.0-litre V8.

Finally, it’s true: Toyota really did sell more Gazoo Racing cars than Priuses in Europe last year. That’s the proper stuff, too – the Supra, 86 and Yaris – not just the badge on the back of a C-HR. Much of that can be explained by the fact that the GR86 won’t be made for much longer, so there’s every incentive to get them to customers – plus the imminent arrival this year of that snazzy new Prius (and the wealth of electrified options out there) – but there’s no escaping the numbers.

Across the Prius Family (2,755), Prius (126) and Prius Plug-In Hybrid (2,629), there were 5,510 sold across Europe. Whereas strong sales for the 86 (4,041) and Yaris (2,454), plus a few more on top from the Supra (939), meant 7,434 GR cars reached owners. Which feels like a decent return for niche enthusiast cars, hopefully vindicating Toyota’s decision to go ahead with them (fun fact: the Supra outsold the Mirai, which probably says something too). We know Toyota is keen intent on building the Yaris for as long as possible; fingers crossed at least one sports car can continue as well.

Yoshihiro Nakata, President and CEO of TME, said: “We are very pleased with another strong sales performance which marks an all-time record in our sales region. We have introduced several new zero and low-emission electrified vehicles as part of our multi-path strategy to offer customers the solution which best meets their needs, among them, the all-new Toyota C-HR and Lexus LBX which will provide a further sales boost in 2024. And, as we recently presented, there’s more to come with many exciting new zero-emission products in the pipeline that will help us meet our carbon neutrality goals in Europe.”