By Hans Greimel

TOKYO -- Cumulative sales of the Toyota Prius hybrid car just passed the 1 million unit mark. But growth is on course to be slowest in the car's biggest market, North America.

 

Dealers there moved 66,100 of the vehicles from January through April. At that pace, Toyota will have sold some 198,300 by year end, up 7.9 percent from 2007.

 

Sales in Japan and Europe are climbing from a smaller base but at a faster rate.

 

The figures were released today, when Toyota announced that cumulative sales since the car's 1997 launch reached 1.028 million units at the end of April.

 

In Japan, the car's No. 2 market, Prius sales reached 24,200 in the first four months. On an annual basis, that would generate a 24.5 percent volume increase over last year.

 

Europeans bought 14,200, a pace poised to deliver a 32.3 percent annual increase.

 

Over the past decade, Toyota estimates its 1 million Prius vehicles have cut global carbon dioxide emissions by 4.5 million tons, compared with conventional gasoline-powered cars.

 

Toyota says it aims to sell 1 million hybrids a year by the early 2010s.

From: Automotive News