Toyota to launch six new hybrids by end of 2012
The world's top automaker Toyota Motor plans to launch six new hybrid models by the end of 2012, a spokesman for the company said Tuesday, as competition to build greener cars heats up.
The six planned models will expand Toyota's hybrid-engine range of vehicles that run on gasoline and electricity at a time when rivals such as Nissan are developing all-electric vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal, citing a Toyota official in Detroit, said that the six new hybrids would include two luxury brand Lexus vehicles and four Toyota models.
Some will be hybrid models only -- like the Prius -- while others will also have a gasoline-engine variant, the report said. All of the hybrids will be new, and not next-generation versions of existing models.
Toyota's Prius hybrid has been a success for the carmaker, particularly in Japan where the compact vehicle has topped the country's best-seller list since May 2009.
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