Toyota launches hybrid Prius

TOKYO: The Toyota Motor Corp has emerged as the out-right winner in the race to mass-produce and market a hybrid car.

The car, called the Prius, combines a petrol engine and an electric motor in a complex system that sharply reduces fuel consumption and poisonous emissions.

Introducing the four-seater Prius, Toyota executives said its technology would cut fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions to half the levels of comparable petrol-powered vehicles.

Emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide would be cut to a-tenth of a conventional 1.5-liter petrol engine. Under test conditions, the Prius yielded as much as 66 miles to a gallon. While other Japanese and foreign carmakers, including Detroit's Big Three -- Ford, Chrysler and General Motors -- have hybrid cars in the works, Toyota will become the only one to put the product on the market.

The Prius will be available only in Japan and for 2.15 million (US$17,500). The Prius will go on sale from Dec. 10. It runs on electricity when it starts and also while running at low speeds of under 20km/h when the petrol engine is less efficient.

When the car picks up speed, it runs on petrol and electricity. The engine and brakes keep it recharged, eliminating the main drawback of electric cars; a short battery life. Toyota officials have said the complex technology made the car expensive to produce.

Some reports suggest the showroom price would need to be 5 million for Toyota to cover costs but there would be few buyers at that price.

"Frankly speaking, it may be pretty difficult to make a profit on this at present," one senior Toyota official said. Growing public concern about gas emissions has prompted Toyota and rivals such as Honda and Nissan to develop hybrids, in the hope that environmentally friendly cars can give a boost to stagnating Japanese domestic sales.