Toyota hybrids underpin Poland's sale surge

Toyota is benefiting from a shift toward more fuel-efficient powertrains in Poland, where overall sales rose 21 percent in January.

Demand for hybrids such as the Japanese automaker's Yaris Cross, Yaris and Corolla boosted the powertrain's sales 67 percent to 7,820 units last month, according to figures from Dataforce.

That increased Poland's hybrid market share more than 6 percentage points to 22.3 percent in January.

Meanwhile, demand for gasoline-powered cars, still Poland's dominant powertrain, fell by more than 6 percentage points to 55.3 percent last month.

Sales of models with full-electric powertrains doubled last month to 1,077 units, boosting their market share to 3.1 percent from 1.8 percent in January 2022.

Led by the Yaris Cross, the Japanese automaker owned every spot in the country's list of top 5-sellers in January (see chart, below).

Of the 7,989 vehicles Toyota sold in Poland last month, which was an increase of more than a third, 74 percent were hybrids. That is up from 53 percent during the first quarter of 2021.

Toyota's closest competitor in the sales ranking, Skoda, was nearly 4,400 units behind despite a 34 percent gain to 3,595 units last month.  

The overall Polish market has been on the rise since last August.