EVLN(Toyota/Nissan hybrids)
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--- {EVangel}
Toyota, Nissan Plan Gas-Electric Cars
Story Filed: Monday, September 02, 2002 10:30 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co.
announced Monday they will work closely together to develop
hybrid gas-electric cars.
Under the deal unveiled Monday, Toyota will supply
components for Nissan models sold in the United States
starting in 2006, targeting 100,000 vehicles over a
five-year period, both sides said.
Hybrid vehicles reduce polluting emissions by switching back
and forth between a gasoline engine and an electric motor.
They're also more convenient than electric vehicles because
they run on regular gas and don't have to be recharged.
Toyota has taken the global lead in introducing
mass-produced hybrid vehicles, having rolled out the Prius
hybrid sedan in showrooms in 1997. Since then, Toyota has
sold 120,000 hybrid vehicles of four models worldwide.
Toyota has a general agreement with U.S. automaker General
Motors Corp. to cooperate on environmentally friendly
technologies. But no specific deal on hybrids, like the one
with Nissan, has been reached with the Detroit manufacturer,
Toyota said.
In the past, Nissan, which is 44.4 percent owned by Renault
SA of France, has repeatedly said producing hybrid vehicles
has not been profitable. It discontinued its Tino hybrid
hatchback after selling a limited number in 2000, but
continued spending on the technology.
Buying hybrid system parts from Toyota will allow Nissan to
cut development costs.
The world's major automakers have all been working on hybrid
technology. Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. also has already
begun selling hybrid models.
Copyright � 2002 Associated Press Information Services, all
rights reserved.
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