December 16, 2005
The first Prius has rolled off an assembly line in China and Toyota hopes to sell 3,000 of the hybrids there next year.
Toyota is making the Prius with its Chinese joint venture partner FAW, China's biggest automaker. FAW already works with Toyota to build both sedans and SUVs. The Prius will be made in Changchun in northeastern China
The model is no bargain by U.S. standards with a price of between $35,000-$37,000 in China.
China is the world's fastest growing car market but also has five of the ten most polluted cities in the world. Toyota vice-president Yoshimi Inaba said hybrid cars like the Prius could help China deal with its environmental and energy shortage problems.
"In addition to China's new automobile policy that encourages the use of hybrid vehicles, the introduction of emission regulations on par with those in Europe and the United States is also moving forward."
Earlier this year Volkswagen and General Motors announced plans to explore building hybrid vehicles with Chinese partner companies.
