Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. may introduce a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle by 2012, as the United States, Japan and Europe tighten their emission rules.
The company, the maker of Subaru-brand cars, plans to develop a new diesel engine that meets tougher environmental standards by 2011 or 2012 and "hopes to introduce a hybrid around the same time," President Ikuo Mori told reporters Wednesday in Tokyo.
Fuji Heavy has said it plans to use a hybrid system developed by Toyota Motor Corp., its biggest shareholder. U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday announced the first national standard for greenhouse-gas emissions from automobiles and tougher rules for fuel mileage.