British built Toyota's help to give Toyota an 8.6% lift in first half of the year.

• European* sales of the Auris range rise 18.4 per cent in first half of 2014 to 73,718 units, achieving a share of more than five per cent in the C-segment
• June was best month yet for Auris Hybrid Touring Sports, with 18,739 sales in Europe, one in four of all Auris range sales
• All Auris models built at Toyota’s Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, Auris Hybrid engines manufactured in North Wales
• Toyota hybrid sales up 17 per cent on January – June 2013
• Total Toyota sales up 8.6 per cent, compared to European market growth of three per cent

The British-built Auris has helped propel Toyota to an 8.6 per cent year-on-year increase in European sales in the first half of 2014, more than double the growth rate for the new car market as a whole. Total Toyota sales for the period were 427,216 vehicles.

Built exclusively at Toyota Manufacturing UK’s Burnaston plant in Derbyshire and with hybrid engines produced at Deeside in North Wales, the Auris hatchback and Touring Sports wagon amassed 73,718 sales – 18.4 per cent more than in the same period last year. Within that figure, hybrid proved by far the most popular powertrain option, notably for Touring Sports with best-yet monthly figures of 18,379 units in June – one in four of all Auris sales.

Taking all hybrid Toyota models in to account – Auris, Yaris and Prius versions – the first six months saw a 17 per cent rise in sales to 75,623; Yaris Hybrid similarly posted a 17 per cent increase in sales volume, maintaining its unique position as the only hybrid in the supermini segment. Its performance is set to be strengthened with the launch of the new 2014 Yaris in August, with CO₂ emissions brought down to a new low of just 75g/km.

Tony Walker, TMUK Deputy Managing Director, said: “The growing success of Auris, and in particular Auris Hybrid, demonstrates how TMUK’s commitment to quality is helping deliver excellent results for Toyota. Cars and engines built here in Britain are proving a success right across Europe, which is great for Toyota and for British manufacturing.”

Toyota European* sales figures, January to June 2014

TOYOTA	427,216
Aygo	34,381
Yaris (including hybrid)	97,427
Yaris Hybrid	29,945
Auris (including hybrid)	43,733
Auris Hybrid	17,766
Auris Touring Sports (including hybrid)	29,985
Auris Hybrid Touring Sports	18,739
Corolla	42,260
Verso	20,021
Avensis	16,304
iQ	2,454
Urban Cruiser	259
Verso-S	3,851
Prius – all models	9,086
Prius	4,235
Prius+	4,047
Prius Plug-in	804
Camry	18,172
GT86	1,638
RAV4	51,518
Venza	3,253
Highlander	5,241
Land Cruiser	25,230
Hilux	17,856
Proace	3,049
Hiace	326
Other models	1,172

* Toyota Motor Europe is responsible for all western, central and eastern European countries including Turkey and Russia. The territory also includes Israel and a number of central Asian markets (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Models listed in italics are produced locally at Toyota’s European manufacturing facilities.