Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday that nothing had been decided on using its California joint venture plant with General Motors Corp (GM) to produce its Prius hybrid — a move that would mark the first North American plant for the hit "green" car.
Major daily Tokyo Shimbun reported yesterday that Toyota was in talks with GM about producing the Prius, now made in only Japan and China, at a joint venture plant in Fremont, California.
The newspaper, which did not cite sources as is common in Japanese media reports, said that adding another production plant would help boost Toyota hybrid sales.
Toyota is hoping to sell 1 million hybrids a year sometime after 2010. The automaker took a decade before recently reaching cumulative sales of 1 million for the Prius, the world’s first mass produced gas-electric hybrid.
Hybrids, which save on gas by switching between a gasoline engine and electric motor, are growing increasingly popular because of soaring gas prices and growing fears about global warming.
Other automakers, including GM and Honda Motor Co, are trying to catch up with Toyota with their versions of hybrids.
“We are always considering the best places for production, but nothing has been decided about producing the Prius at NUMMI [New United Motor Manufacturing Inc],” Toyota said in a statement.
The majority of global Prius sales are in the US, where demand for small cars are surging. California has among the toughest emissions regulations in the world, helping making the Prius popular there.
The Tokyo Shimbun said the major components of the Prius will be shipped to be assembled at the NUMMI plant in California. Set up in 1984, NUMMI produces the Corolla subcompact and other Toyota models.
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