According to Automotive News, Toyota is in talks with General Motors about producing the hybrid Prius at their joint production venture in California. If the two companies will reach agreement would be for the first time that the Prius -- the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle -- is made in the United States.

Toyota may produce Prius cars at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), a venture established by the two groups in 1984 that currently makes Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles, it said.

The Japanese company plans to ship key components from Japan and assemble them at the venture in Fremont, Calif., where demand for environmentally friendly cars is high, the newspaper said.

Toyota aims to sell at least 1 million hybrid vehicles a year from the early 2010s. It currently produces the Prius in Japan and China.

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