The launch Tuesday of two sport utility vehicles featuring hybrid engines highlights Toyota Motor Corp.'s keenness to spread the hybrid system as a core environmental technology.
Toyota became the world's first automaker to commercially mass produce hybrid vehicles when it launched the Prius in 1997.
In 2004, the nation's largest carmaker sold some 135,000 hybrid cars worldwide, including 126,000 Prius models. Toyota hopes to boost that figure to 1 million.