The grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda claims the company has sold around 27 million hybrids since launching the first-generation Prius in 1997. According to him, those hybrids have had the same carbon footprint as nine million fully electric vehicles. Put another way, a single EV is as dirty as three hybrids. He argues that the gap is even wider when EVs are charged using electricity from thermal power stations reliant on fossil fuels, as is the case in Japan.