Toyota to use solar power generation system in Prius

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhuanet) --Toyota Motor
Corp. plans to install solar panels on its next-generation Prius hybrid cars to
power the vehicle's air conditioning, according to Monday's Nikkei Business
Daily.

The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car, first went on sale in Japan in
late 1997 and in other markets in 2000, and its cumulative sales have topped 1
million units worldwide.

The paper said Toyota would equip solar panels on the
roof of the high-end version of the Prius.

If it happens, Toyota would be the first major
carmaker to use a solar power generation system on a mass-produced vehicle.

The solar panels are made by Kyocera Corp.

(Agencies)