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Toyota boosts Prius, mulls plant in U.S.

By John Porretto
The Associated Press

Toyota has set a goal of producing 300,000 hybrid cars by the end of next year, though production capacity is a problem.

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Speaking at an automotive seminar, Cho said Japan's biggest automaker remained bullish on prospects for hybrids even as Toyota and others invest billions on technology for hydrogen fuel-cell cars and trucks. But experts say road-ready hydrogen-powered vehicles are at least a decade away.

Toyota sold 53,293 hybrid vehicles worldwide in 2003 and announced Tuesday it was boosting monthly production of its hybrid sedan, the Prius, from 10,000 to 15,000 a month in 2005 to meet global demand.

Toyota also plans to introduce two hybrid sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) early next year: the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX400H.

"It may be difficult for us to produce (300,000) hybrids by that time, but we have another year to go so we'll make every effort," Cho said through an interpreter after his prepared remarks.

He acknowledged a possible obstacle to that goal is capacity. All production takes place in Japan, but Cho said the company was studying the possibility of building hybrids in the United States.

"Sometime in the future we might have to consider doing that," he said. "We're carrying out various studies at the moment about various possibilities, but it's still at the stage of studying matters."

Hybrids draw power from two energy sources, typically a gas or diesel engine combined with an electric motor. The only versions available in the United States are Toyota's Prius and two small cars made by Honda, but nearly every automaker is investing in hybrid technology.

	Toyota President Fujio Cho bullish on hybrids.

Ford is scheduled to start selling a hybrid version of its Escape SUV this month. It has said the hybrid system in the front-wheel-drive Escape allows the vehicle to get 35 to 40 miles per gallon in city driving, compared with 20 miles per gallon in a 2005 Escape with a V-6 engine.

It plans another hybrid SUV and midsize sedan in the next few years.

Honda is set to introduce a hybrid version of its popular Accord sedan this fall.

U.S. registrations for hybrid vehicles rose to 43,435 last year, a 25.8 percent increase from 2002, according to recent figures from R.L. Polk.

Since 2000, hybrid sales in the United States have grown at an average annual rate of 88.6 percent, Polk said, but they account for only a fraction of total vehicles sold. Full-year U.S. sales for 2003 were 16.7 million.

Toyota sold 1.86 million vehicles in the United States last year — 6.3 percent more than the year before — but Prius sales accounted for only 24,627.

So far this year, helped in part by higher gas prices, Toyota has sold slightly more than 27,000 of the hybrid sedans, including 5,230 last month, according to Autodata.

Mike Wall, an industry analyst with CSM Worldwide, said a key to Toyota meeting its goal is the North American market and a greater acceptance among drivers who still aren't clear on hybrids and their performance capabilities.

Wall said it's not out of the question that Toyota might one day build a hybrid version of its full-size pickup at its plant under construction in San Antonio.

"They have a lot on their plate, so it's probably long term," he said. "But that's what Toyota does well — thinking long term."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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