TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota Motor Corp plans to install solar panels on some Prius hybridsin its next remodeling, responding to growing demand for "green" carsamid record-high oil prices, a source briefed on the matter said onMonday.
The panels, supplied by Kyocera Corp would be able to power part ofthe air-conditioning on high-end versions of the gasoline-electricPrius, the source said.
"It’s more of a symbolic gesture," said the source, who asked not tobe identified. "It’s very difficult to power much more than that withsolar energy."
Toyota is due to launch the third-generation Prius next year.
Big automakers are racing to come up with alternative solutions tousing fossil fuels to appear ecologically conscious and to lureconsumers looking to save money at the pump.
But solar power is not seen as a viable solution to power cars.Solar panels are expensive due to rising silicon prices and storingenergy is difficult, the source said. It was unknown how much the solarpanels on the new Prius cars would cost, or how many solar-mountedversions Toyota would build.
A Toyota spokesman declined to comment, saying the company does not talk about future product plans.
Mazda Motor Corp briefly offered a solar panel option on two carmodels, the Eunos 800 and Sentia, in the early 1990s to ventilate thesedans while parked on hot summer days. The expensive option wasunpopular and discontinued after a few years.
Kentaro Endo, a director at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry who specializes in renewable energy, said the application ofsolar energy was severely limited in vehicles.
"Even if you laid solar panels out on the entire roof of a house,you only generate enough energy to run two hair dryers," he said.
"It’s an interesting idea, but it would be very difficult to power a whole car, even with technological advances."
Toyota has struggled to keep up with demand for the Prius as soaringgasoline prices put consumers off of gas-guzzling sport utilityvehicles and pickup trucks. Rival Honda Motor Co will also step up itshybrid push with a new, low-cost model early next year, followed byseveral other gasoline-electric cars.
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Automakers have teamed up with battery makers to develop and producelithium-ion batteries to store more energy in smaller packages toextend cruising distances.
Toyota has partnered with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co whileNissan Motor Co has a joint venture with the NEC Corp group. MitsubishiMotors Corp is working with GS Yuasa Corp.
The Prius, the world’s first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybridcar, first went on sale in Japan in late 1997 and in other markets in2000. Cumulative sales have topped 1 million units worldwide.
Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid cars a yearin the early part of the next decade by offering the fuel-saving systemon more vehicles.
Toyota shares ended 1.4 percent higher at 4,990 yen as the dollarrose against the yen. Kyocera lost 0.1 percent to 9,740 yen, while theNikkei average gained 0.9 percent.
(Reporting by Mayumi Negishi, Sachi Izumi, Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Brent Kininmont)
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