Toyota Prius Sales Top 1 Million While Company Bets on Green Building

Published May 15, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. — Toyota is celebrating two green milestones this month with sales of its Prius surpassing the 1 million mark while at the same time, the carmaker has earned the country’s first LEED-Gold certification of a dealership.

Toyota of Rockwall, Texas, uses four water cisterns to hold up to 63,500 gallons of rainwater and air conditioning condensation for use in landscape irrigation. Its roof reflects 90 percent of heat energy, and landscape is comprised of drought-resistant native plants and grasses.

"We expect there will be six LEED certified Toyota dealerships by this
summer,” said Michael Bevan, corporate manager of the retail market segment of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “We've also been working with other auto companies on the dynamics of building a LEED dealership and they are beginning to build facilities for LEED certification."

The company Prius sales are largely concentrated in North America and Japan, the company said. It plans on selling 1 million more hybrids by the early 2010s. The Prius is sold in more than 40 countries.

The company estimates that the Prius vehicles in operation have helped avoid some 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

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Toyota Prius Sales Top 1 Million While Company Bets on Green Building

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Toyota Prius Sales Top 1 Million While Company Bets on Green Building

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