Kae Inoue and Masahide Inatome

    BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Toyota Motor Corp, the world's second-largest automaker, may release cars powered by an electric motor combined with a diesel or natural gas-fuelled piston engine to suit local market needs, Senior Managing Director Hiroyuki Watanabe said.

    Toyota, based in central Japan's Toyota city, is "developing hybrid systems that can be used for gasoline, diesel, natural gas and fuel-cells, which will be the most fuel-efficient," Watanabe said in Tokyo.

    Toyota started selling its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid in 1997, and will increase the model's monthly output by half in 2005 to meet surging US demand and stay ahead of rivals including General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co. Carmakers are spending billions of dollars to develop cleaner hybrid or fuel-cell vehicles, reported China Daily Thursday.

    "It's important to consider how advanced automakers are in environmental-friendly technology when you look at stocks in the long term," said Masayuki Kubota, a fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd in Tokyo, who helps manage the equivalent of US$8.5 billion.

    Toyota makes at least 10 kinds of diesel engines worldwide, fitting them in vehicles such as the Yaris and Corolla compact cars, Avensis sedans, RAV4 and Land Cruiser sport-utility vehicles, and Hilux pickup trucks.

    Diesel-powered cars account for more than 40 per cent of the European auto market. Toyota increased car sales in Europe by 14 per cent in the first half of 2004.

    The world's largest automaker by market value is putting off introducing a hybrid version of the Lexus RX 330 in the United States until early next year from December, to focus on meeting demand for the Prius.

    Toyota will expand monthly Prius production to 15,000 in the first half of 2005 from the current rate of 10,000, Senior Managing Director Takeshi Suzuki said this month.

    The Prius has been one of the fastest-selling cars in the US since a redesign in late 2003 and remains on US dealer lots for less time than any model sold by a major automaker this year, according to J.D. Power & Associates. Toyota Santa Monica, among the biggest US Prius dealers, has customers waiting as long as eight months for the car, with a list price of US$25,000.

(China Daily)