TOKYO, Nov. 29, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM) said Monday it has started producing the Prius gas-electric hybrid car in Thailand to meet growing demand there for vehicles with environment-friendly and energy-saving technologies.
Its subsidiary Toyota Motor Thailand Co. will start selling the fuel-efficient Prius from Tuesday with a price tag from 3.3 million yen to 3.5 million yen, while its major plant aims at annual production of 12,000 units, the company said.
It will be the first time the Japanese auto giant has manufactured the third-generation Prius at an overseas plant following its full-model change last year, it said.
''This is proof positive of the increasing level of Thai manufacturing on both quality and safety fronts,'' said Kyoichi Tanada, president of the Thai subsidiary.
Being one of the major overseas manufacturing bases, Toyota Motor Thailand started production and sales of the Camry Hybrid sedan last year.