7 August 2002: Toyota has improved the fuel consumption of its hybrid car, making it the most fuel-efficient 5-seat passenger car on the Japanses market.

The Corolla-sized Prius now achieves 73mpg, following changes made to the car on the Japanese market. A revised version is also planned for the US market, where the ground-breaking hybrid has recently become quite popular with eco-conscious celebrities.

Toyota launched the first Prius in 1997 and plans to produce 300,000 of the vehicles a year by 2005.