Toyota, the biggest maker of cars that run on gasoline-electric engines, will increase production of its Prius hybrid model by 50 per cent to cut the waiting time for buyers.
The car maker will expand the Prius's monthly production to 15,000 units in the first half of 2005 from 10,000 vehicles, senior managing director Takeshi Suzuki said at a Tokyo press conference.
The Prius runs on electric and gasoline motors. At low speeds, the electricity powers the vehicle and the gasoline engine takes over as the car gains speed. The battery is recharged using the gasoline engine and the brakes.
