Toyota to halve hybrid price, size for next Prius

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will slash the price and size of its hybrid system by around half for the next-generation Prius model, and use a nickel-metal hydride battery instead of lithium-ion, a top executive said.

"When we went from the first-generation Prius to the second-generation, we did the same thing," Executive Vice President Kazuo Okamoto, in charge of Toyota's research and development, told reporters in Tokyo.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, has not publicly disclosed a timeframe for the introduction of the third-generation Prius model. Some media reports have speculated the planned late-2008 launch would be delayed because of concerns over the safety of lithium-ion batteries.

"I can't tell you when it will come to market, but the preparations are making steady progress," Okamoto said. He added that the next Prius would "definitely" use improved nickel-hydride batteries rather than higher-energy lithium-ion.

"Lithium-ion is going to take some time," he said.

Toyota, which pioneered the gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain with the Prius in 1997, has set a goal of selling 1 million hybrid vehicles annually soon after 2010. It hopes to eventually make the system available across its vehicle line-up.

The Prius, an easily recognizable hybrid-only car, has helped Toyota cultivate an image as a maker of fuel-efficient cars, also driving sales of its mainstay cars such as the petrol-engine Camry sedan and RAV4 crossover vehicle.

To give sales of future hybrid models a boost, Okamoto said Toyota would design all of its gasoline-electric cars in a way that would make them instantly recognizable as a hybrid -- for example through a unique front grille.