11:40am UK, Thursday May 15, 2008

Toyota has announced that worldwide sales of its Prius petrol-electric hybrids have topped one million for the first time.

180 toyota prius

Toyota's most popular hybrid

The Japanese motor giant had sold 1,028,000 of the cars worldwide, more than half of them in North America, by the end of April.

The Prius first went on sale in Japan in 1997 as the world's first commercially mass-produced vehicle of its type.

It has become something of an icon among environmentally-conscious drivers - and is particularly fashionable with movie stars keen to demonstrate their 'green' credentials.

Toyota says the distinctively-styled car is now sold in some 40 countries and regions.

It does market other hybrids but the Prius has been far the most popular model.

The company has said it plans to sell a million hybrids annually sometime in the few years after 2010.

The news came on the day as reports that Toyota had agreed to pay an extra 30% for its sheet steel.

The firm's revenues and profits are under pressure because of the strong yen and the problems the US economy is facing.