Toyota Ireland has kicked off 2018 as the best-selling car brand in Ireland thanks to significant demand for its hybrid range.

Back on top of the sales charts Toyota closed out January with a 11.83% market share, garnered through the sale of 4,393 passenger vehicles, 48% of which were hybrid.

Commenting on the January sales haul Toyota Ireland's Chief Executive Steve Tormey said, "We're delighted with the strong start to 2018, particularly with how well our hybrid range has performed, which is ahead of our powertrain mix predictions. With close to 50% hybrid mix of our total passenger car sales, it's very clear that hybrid is the best technology in the market today to meet customers' needs for more environmentally friendly and better driving experiences. With diesel now accounting for only 21% of our car sales, it's clear Toyota customers are ahead of the market in their move out of diesel and into hybrid."

Looking at the overall sales mix in January, hybrid accounted for 6.26% of the entire car market, a 73% year on year increase, while diesel has been decimated, falling by 17% year on year.

Steve Tormey added, "Similar to the Irish Government, Toyota too has a vision for a zero emissions society, which we believe can be a reality by 2050. To help achieve this, Toyota's self-charging hybrid cars, which are in electric mode for up to 55% of the time, should be viewed as a stepping stone for consumers into full electrification.

In the end, it's the customer who will decide and they've decided that hybrid is the start of their journey into electrification, which gives society most of the environmental and health benefits of full electrification but without the compromise".

Looking across Toyota's best-selling hybrid models:

Yaris sold 1026 units, of which 49% were hybrid

Auris sold 807 units, of which 71% were hybrid

C-HR sold 813 units, of which 77% were hybrid

RAV4 sold 582 units of which 49% were hybrid