TOYOTA will use the petrol-electric hybrid engine technology launched in the Prius in other vehicles, the company has confirmed. And Toyota Motor Corporation president Fujio Cho has issued a challenge to the rest of the industry, saying manufacturers must invest to limit the car's impact on 'our earth' or else Toyota and other vehicle manufacturers will not survive the 21st century.

He said that despite aggressive and very successful efforts by manufacturers to reduce emissions, smog levels remained too high around the world, where emissions combined with other air problems had made some cities almost unliveable. 'It's time for the world's automakers to deal with this issue,' Cho said. 'We need to make this new century the start of a unified effort to better tune this industry to the needs of our earth. We are committed to helping lead the movement.'

At previous Detroit Motor Shows manufacturers have queued up to tell the world's media about the technological advances they were making to reduce vehicle pollution. But, this year, Toyota and General Motors were the only companies to make major reference to the global pollution problem.