Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday released a remodeled Prius hybrid, which it claims is the world's most fuel-efficient, mass-produced car.
The new Prius, which can carry five people, gets 31 km per liter of fuel, compared with 29 km for the previous model, company officials said.
The standard S-type Prius is priced at 2.18 million yen, the same as its predecessor.
Toyota launched the Prius in 1997 as the world's first mass-market hybrid car. A hybrid has both a gasoline engine and an electric motor.
Average monthly sales for January-June, however, remained at 60 percent of the target, or 600 units, so Toyota decided to release an improved version featuring better fuel efficiency.
In comparison, Honda Motor Co.'s Civic hybrid has a fuel efficiency of 29.5 km per liter.