Fuji Heavy to launch 1st hybrid car this summer in Japan

Jumat, 19 April 2013 01:03

(TOKYO-Kyodo) Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday it will launch its first mass market hybrid vehicle "Subaru XV" in the Japanese market this summer.

The sport utility vehicle with a 2000 cc engine, which was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show late March, features enhanced acceleration and improved fuel economy of 20 kilometers per liter, compared with 15.8 km per liter for its gasoline-powered model. It will also be marketed in North America around this fall.

Fuji Heavy has a business alliance with Toyota Motor Corp. -- the front-runner in the hybrid vehicle market -- but developed the latest hybrid system by itself.

"Hybrid is not a special technology anymore and models have become pretty popular these days," President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga said at a press conference in Tokyo in unveiling a prototype of the new vehicle.

Competition in developing hybrid vehicles is intensifying amid increasing popularity of fuel-efficient and eco-friendly models. For Toyota, hybrid models already account for roughly 40 percent of its domestic auto sales and 14 percent in the global market.