Toyota Motor Corp. plans to introduce a new hybrid-only model in 2009 to achieve its annual sales target of 1 million gas-electric hybrid vehicles in the early 2010s, sources said.
The model will be a midsize sedan with a 2.5-3 liter-engine, larger than the 1.5-liter Prius hatchback, Toyota's first hybrid, which debuted in 1997, the sources said.
In the United States, where hybrids have been selling briskly, consumers favor vehicles with bigger engines.
Toyota is considering other hybrid-only models, such as a station wagon and a minivan, to spur sales of hybrid vehicles, the sources said.
Toyota is developing a third-generation hybrid system, which will be smaller and lower-priced than the current system. It will go on the market as early as 2008.
The automaker plans to install the system on a wide range of vehicles, including the Prius and the new hybrid midsize sedan.
It aims to cut costs through volume production.
The Prius, the world's first hybrid-only model, is scheduled to be fully redesigned when it incorporates the new hybrid system.
In addition to the Prius, Toyota has added hybrid versions to nine conventional gasoline-engine models, including commercial vehicles.
Still, the Prius accounts for 60 percent of Toyota's overall sales of hybrid vehicles.
Consumers interested in hybrid vehicles tend to choose the Prius because it is easily recognized as an environmentally friendly vehicle, Toyota officials said.(IHT/Asahi: December 27,2006)
