Tokyo, Japan – Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has announced that worldwide cumulative sales of the Prius hybrid have topped the one million mark, with approximately 1,028,000 units sold as of the end of April 2008.

Currently, the Prius, which was the world’s first mass-produced gasoline electric hybrid vehicle, is sold in more than 40 countries and regions, particularly in Japan and North America. It was launched in Japan in 1997 and began selling in Europe, North America and other markets in 2000. In 2005, Toyota began its first overseas production in Changchun, China; it is expected to go on sale in South Korea in the second half of 2009.

The second-generation Prius was introduced in 2003, equipped with the Toyota Hybrid System II that provided improved environmental performance and power. Toyota said it aims to sell one million or more hybrid vehicles each year in future, possibly as early as in the 2010s.