Toyota mulls U.S. production of hybrids

Toyota mulls U.S. production of hybrids
Automaker hopes to sell 300,000 green vehicles in 2004

Updated: 2:42 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2004

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Toyota Motor Corp. aims to sell 300,000 hybrid vehicles next year and is studying possible U.S. production of the fuel-efficient cars, the head of the Japanese automaker said on Wednesday.

Toyota, which unseated Ford Motor Co. as the world's second-largest automaker last year, is powering ahead in the U.S. market, driven by popular products including the recently remodeled and hot-selling Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Toyota's U.S. sales have exceeded 1 million units year to date, increasing 10 percent.

Demand for its Japan-made Prius sedan has exceeded supply, with buyers in some parts of the United States waiting up to six months for their cars to arrive. The automaker also plans to introduce hybrid versions of its Lexus RX300 and Highlander sport utility vehicles early next year.

"We are at a very beginning stage of the study," Toyota President Fujio Cho told Reuters, referring to U.S. production of hybrids. "There is no timeframe," he added.

"We are hoping to sell as many as 300,000 (hybrid) units in 2005," Cho said.

Toyota, which is gaining U.S. market share at the cost of Detroit's traditional Big Three automakers, is also considering shipping more Prius cars to North America next year from the current 47,000 cars.

"The Prius in the U.S. sold much more than we had anticipated initially," Cho said.

Toyota said on Tuesday it would raise production of its hybrid cars to 15,000 units a month from 10,000 units a month during the first half of next year.

It also recently raised its 2004 global vehicle sales forecast by 4 percent to a record 7.39 million units. The automaker now expects a 9 percent rise in global sales this year, including sales by its subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd.