European sales of hybrid vehicles increased more than 40 percent last year to 214,237 units as more people decided to reduce their fuel consumption with the help of the electrically assisted cars.
Analysts, however, say the market niche continues to struggle against diesel-powered cars that are often even more frugal than hybrids.
Sales of the British-built and Welsh-powered Auris Hybrid hatchback and station wagon rose 131 percent to 53,426 last year while demand for the gasoline-electric version of the French-built Yaris increased 103 percent to 48,758, according to figures from JATO Dynamics.
The Auris Hybrid, which uses an engine assembled in Toyota Deeside, is so popular that it accounted for nearly half the compact line’s overall sales in Europe last year, JATO’s figures show. The Yaris Hybrid accounted for just under a third of the model line’s European volume in 2013.
