Toyota plans to double hybrid production

• Source: Global Times
• [10:00 January 18 2010]
• Comments

Toyota Motor plans to double gas-electric hybrid production as it tries to keep its leading position in the growing low-emission car market.

The automaker recently notified parts suppliers that it intends to roll out about 800,000 hybrids domestically this year, with the figure to be raised to around 900,000 in 2011 and 1.1 million in 2012, the Nikkei reported.

Toyota plans to add about 10 new hybrid models in the next few years to its existing lineup and to increase the number of sites where they can assemble hybrid models, the Nikkei said without citing sources.

Toyota's global production of hybrid cars is likely to have been 500,000 units in 2009, accounting for about 8 percent of its overall production, the paper said.

Toyota has already expanded its hybrid production sites beyond Japan to include China, the United States, Thailand and Australia, typically receiving some form of state-backed incentives to build the fuel-sipping vehicles locally.

Agencies and Shi Jierui contributed to this story