Toyota to bring new hybrids to PHL if there is enough demand

Demand will determine whether Toyota will bring new models of hybrid models to the Philippines, Toyota Motor Philippines said Thursday. "[T]hat is our top consideration," TMP vice president Rommel Gutierrez said in a text message. Earlier, Toyota Motor Corp. said it plans to launch 20 hybrid models by the end of 2015. Hybrid vehicles currently comprise 40 percent of Toyota’s sales in Japan and 14 percent globally. Gutierrez said there are currently no plans to bring the new models to the Philippines. Toyota's Prius and Prius C are currently available on the domestic market.  Toyota’s luxury line, Lexus, also includes four full hybrid models: the LS600h, GS450h, CT200h, and RX450h. There are currently 19 TMC-produced hybrid passenger car models and one plug-in hybrid vehicle model available in approximately 80 countries and regions worldwide. TMC also recently announced that cumulative sales of its hybrid vehicles in Japan have breached the two-million mark as of Oct. 31 this year.  Globally, Toyota already achieved 4.6 million units in hybrid vehicle sales. TMC said that as of Oct. 31, its hybrid vehicles sold since 1997 have reduced carbon dioxide emissions ­­by approximately 30 million tons and saved approximately 11 million kilo liters of gasoline worldwide. — BM, GMA News