Toyota Australia has lowered the price of its Prius petrol-electric range as hybrid technology begins to enter the mainstream.

Toyota said the decision to lower prices - by a range of almost $5000 to more than $7500 - comes as global Prius sales have surged past two million.

From today, Prius will be priced from $34,990 while the top-of-the line Prius i-Tech will be priced from $45,990.

Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing Dave Buttner said Toyota's fundamental approach was to set prices that consumers would find attractive and to establish production cost limits to deliver those prices.

"A key factor in lowering the cost of any advanced technology is market acceptance, leading to strong sales," Mr Buttner said.

In addition to Prius, Toyota has offered the built-in-Australia Hybrid Camry model since February 2010, adding further recognition and acceptance of hybrid technology to the local market.

Mr Buttner said Toyota Australia had offered substantial cost-of-ownership benefits for a considerable period through low-interest finance, in anticipation of official approval for the price repositioning.

According to him, Toyota had positioned hybrid as a core technology and was committed to making further advances.

He said Toyota had licensed its hybrid technology to several rivals and welcomed announcements of hybrid vehicles by a growing number of other automotive manufacturers.

"The introduction of new models will revitalise the market and help to make eco-cars in general more popular.

"The more popular hybrid cars become, the more affordable their prices and, therefore, the greater the impact on the environment."

In Japan, Prius has been the top-selling car for 21 of the past 22 months.

Last year, Toyota sold 315,669 Prius cars in its home market - an increase of 51 per cent and a record for any nameplate in Japan.