A Prius with the new Hybrid engine is seen at the fair stand of Japanese car manufacturer Toyota at the international car show IAA in Frankfurt in this September 11, 2007 file photo.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Toyota Motor Corp. plans to install solar panels on its next-generation Prius hybrid cars to power the vehicle's air conditioning, according to Monday's Nikkei Business Daily.

    The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car, first went on sale in Japan in late 1997 and in other markets in 2000, and its cumulative sales have topped 1 million units worldwide.

    The paper said Toyota would equip solar panels on the roof of the high-end version of the Prius.

    If it happens, Toyota would be the first major carmaker to use a solar power generation system on a mass-produced vehicle.

    The solar panels are made by Kyocera Corp.

    (Agencies)