Expansionary Institute

Michael Zey
futurist3000@aol.com

By Keiko Kanai

 
NAGOYA, Japan, July 26 (Reuters) - Japan's top carmaker, Toyota Motor Corp, said on Thursday it would launch its Prius hybrid-powered car in Hong Kong on Friday, followed by autumn releases in Singapore and Australia.

The world's third-largest automaker plans to ship 200 Prius compact sedans for the Hong Kong market annually, Toyota Executive Vice President Yoshio Ishigaki told a news conference in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.

It will export 100 vehicles a year to Singapore and 300 to Australia, he said.

The move is part of Toyota's efforts to boost output of environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles to 300,000 in 2005, up from 19,000 in 2000.

Automakers worldwide are turning to hybrid technology, which combines two or more sources of power, such as a gasoline engine, an electric motor or a fuel cell.

The goal is lower emissions of toxic gases and greater fuel efficiency. The development of such "greener" cars is seen as the key to surviving global competition under stricter environment laws.

"After research and consultation with local distributers, we have selected places to release Prius as areas with strong public awareness of environmental issues," Ishigaki said.

Toyota will sell the Prius in Hong Kong for HK$213,700 ($27,400), a company Japan, Europe and the United States. It now makes 3,000 a month.

It sold 12,700 hybrid cars in the January-May period and expects to sell more than 20,000 in 2001.

Toyota shares were down 0.73 percent at 4,110 yen at 0457 GMT, while the key Nikkei average was down 0.14 percent.

01:04 07-26-01

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