Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. plans to add solar panels to its popular Prius hybrid early next year to power the vehicle’s air conditioning, a newspaper report said on Monday.

As part of a complete design makeover, the Prius will be fitted with rooftop solar panels on its high-end models, the Nikkei economic daily said without naming sources.

If it happens, Toyota, in a close race with General Motors for the title of the world’s top automaker, would be the first major carmaker to use a solar power generation system on a mass-produced vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »