Toyota Will Add Solar Panels on Some of Its Prius

Toyota plans another breakthrough by installing solar panels on its Prius hybrids. The panels will be use to power the air-conditioning on the high-end versions of the gasoline-electric Prius.

Big automakers are competing to come up with alternative solutions to using fossil fuels to appear ecologically conscious and to lure consumers to reduce expense due to the skyrocketing oil price. However, solar power is not considered as a feasible solution to power cars because the panels are very expensive. It is still unknown how much the new Prius with solar panels will cost.

The demand for Prius is very high right now and Toyota has struggled to keep up with it. The Prius is actually the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car. It was on sale in Japan in late 1997 and entered other markets in 2000. The company has sold more than 1 million units worldwide and it targets to sell 1 million hybrid cars every year in the early part of the next decade.

This story was taken from Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius hybrids.