Honda hybrid vehicles just surpassed the one million mark in sales at the end of September. According to Green Car Congress, this milestone took the Japanese car manufacturer nearly thirteen years (12 years and 11 months, to be exact) since its first hybrid car hit the roads of Japan in November 1999.

Back 13 years ago, the first Honda hybrid vehicles were tops in fuel economy, at 35 kilometers a liter, based on a 5 MT vehicle with a 10-15 mode, Green Car Congress noted.

It took Toyota just 10 years to reach 1 million hybrids sold — the company reached that goal back in 2007. Furthermore, in the 5 years since that time, Toyota has sold four million more hybrid cars.

Honda now sells eight hybrid models globally in fifty countries, while three are specifically sold in Japan.

As hybrids become more popular globally, Honda is also expanding its production on a global scale. It started producing the Jazz Hybrid in Thailand this past July. Honda also expects to start production in Malaysia later this year, the article said.

Meanwhile, the US has benefited from Honda expanding its global production scope, as the ILX Hybrid is being produced in the US.

Honda’s recent milestone in reaching its 1 millionth hybrid vehicle sale shows that there is strong demand for greener cars, and gives some encouragement to the electric vehicle market.