TOKYO (AFP) - Leading Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said it will start Chinese assembly of the hugely popular Prius hybrid sedan next year in collaboration with China FAW Group Corp.
The two firms reached "a basic agreement on jointly promoting the widespread use of high-quality, high-performance hybrid vehicles built in China," Toyota said in a statement.
FAW President Zhu Yanfeng and Toyota President Fujio Cho formalized the agreement Wednesday in China, Toyota said in a statement.
"To enhance peoples awareness and understanding of hybrid vehicles and to make such vehicles available in China as soon as possible, FAW and (Toyota) plan to begin assembly of the Prius in China by the end of 2005," the statement said.
FAW subsidiary Changchun FAW Fengyue Auto Co. will begin building Prius with parts shipped from Japan, the Japanese firm said.
The move will mark the first overseas production of the Prius, a Toyota spokesman said.
The two firms also agreed to consider building an FAW-brand vehicle featuring a hybrid system based on Toyota technology, Toyota said.
"With the new agreement, the companies intend to contribute to the promotion of hybrid vehicles in China as well as to the further development of the Chinese automobile industry," the statement said.
Toyota has been promoting its hybrid car technology to make it a global standard, agreeing to license it to Ford Motor Co.
Toyota also supplies hybrid system components to Nissan Motor Co.
Prius has been extremely popular in major auto markets. In Europe and the United States, motorists must wait about six months to buy the vehicle. In Japan, the wait is about one to two months, a Toyota spokesman said.