Toyota Motor Corp. says it has started selling power outlets as optional parts for its Prius hybrid cars, enabling owners to power home alliances using the vehicle's rechargeable battery in the event of a blackout.
The ¥63,000 option comes with two 100-volt outlets and allows a fully charged battery in the car to supply enough electricity to cover four days worth of power usage by an average home, with a maximum output of 1,500 watts, Toyota said Monday.
Toyota also said it will add an "L" grade to the Prius PHV plug-in hybrid lineup, a model mainly for business use, to be launched Nov. 1 at a suggested retail price of ¥3.05 million.
Electric outlets for the Prius PHV model, except the L grade, will be sold starting Nov. 1.
U.S. forklift buy
Toyota Industries Corp. said it has reached a deal to acquire U.S. forklift parts maker Cascade Corp. for $759 million in a bid to meet growing forklift demand in emerging economies.
The Japanese firm plans to buy all Cascade shares for $65 apiece through a tender offer by early December.
The deal "will create a leading global materials-handling business with a wider spectrum of products and a valuable platform for growth," Toyota Industries said in a statement Monday.
Cascade, based in Fairview, Oregon, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of materials handling devices and has large shares in emerging markets as well as the U.S. market, according to Kariya, Aichi Prefecture-based Toyota Industries, which plans to fully finance the purchase from internal reserves.