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Toyota launches new hybrid, Honda warms to electric
Toyota Motor Corp is ramping up its push on gasoline-electric hybrids, launching a new model in Japan and taking on up-and-coming rival Hyundai Motor Co in its Korean home market with its flagship Prius.
Looking a step beyond hybrids, the head of Honda Motor Co said he was considering launching electric vehicles in the United States, Europe and Japan, indicating a shift in the strategy of Japan's No.2 car maker for zero-emission cars.
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Toyota, the world's largest automaker, said on Tuesday it aims to sell 36,000 units a year of its new Sai hybrid sedan in Japan, taking another step toward its goal of selling 1 million hybrid vehicles annually worldwide soon after 2010.
Toyota's Sai has a listed mileage of 23 km/liter (54 mpg), or twice that of a comparable gasoline car, chief engineer Shigeru Nakagawa told a news conference.
The Sai sedan, which goes on sale in Japan in December with a base price of 3.38 million yen ($37,290), is the second hybrid-only model under the Toyota brand after the less expensive Prius, and is a repackaged version of the Lexus HS250h hybrid.
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