Toyota to release new medium-sized SAI hybrid within this year+

NAGOYA, Aug. 21 Kyodo -
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to release within this year a new medium-sized hybrid
sedan, the SAI, that is bigger than the current best-selling Prius as it seeks
to expand its lineup of electric-gas hybrids, sources familiar with the matter
said Friday.

The SAI will be positioned as a Toyota brand version of the luxury Lexus HS250h
hybrid sedan released in mid-July. It will have the same basic structure but
different exterior and interior designs, the sources said.
''The drive will feel lighter,'' a person familiar with the development said.
The SAI's starting price is expected to fall somewhere between the new Prius's
2.05 million yen and the HS250h's 3.95 million yen, the sources said.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda has said the automaker will focus on diversifying
its hybrid products, especially with the Prius and the new hybrid-only Lexus
sedan receiving robust orders on the back of recent government subsidies and
tax breaks for energy-saving cars.
Toyota also plans to release a cheaper compact hybrid based on its Vitz model
with better fuel efficiency than the new Prius and a minivan-type hybrid as
early as in 2011.
But Toyota will need to reinforce its battery production capacity with the
delivery of both the Prius and the HS250h falling far behind the booming
orders, auto industry observers said.
Meanwhile, Toyota's domestic sales for August are expected to see about a 10
percent increase from a year earlier to mark the first year-on-year rise in 13
months, owing to factors such as the popularity of the Prius, industry sources
said.
Toyota has posted year-on-year declines in monthly domestic sales since August
last year, when it sold about 85,000 units.
==Kyodo
2009-08-21 22:42:16