Toyota to Raise Prices of Some Japan Models

Toyota Motor is set to raise prices of hybrid cars and commercial vehicles by 1-3 percent in Japan as costs for steel and other materials soar, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

AP 2007 Toyota Prius

Toyota shares gained over 3 percent after the report.

The move by the world's biggest automaker may cause Nissan Motor and other rivals to follow suit, as their profits are also under pressure from the skyrocketing prices of materials.

Toyota will make an official decision this month, and it will likely affect models such as the Prius hybrid and the Dyna truck, the paper said.

The newspaper said Toyota would leave the prices of mainstay models such as the Corolla and Crown sedans untouched, as it fears across-the-board price increases would further hit weak domestic demand.

A Toyota spokesman said nothing had been decided. 

The company said in July it would raise the prices of 13 models, including Scion vehicles, in the United States by an average $181 or 0.81 percent.

Nissan's Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn has said the automaker may in theory need to raise prices by an average of 2-3 percent in Japan but also suggested it might wait for industry leader Toyota to make a move on price rises first.

Toyota shares were up 3.1 percent at 4,978 yen in morning trade, also helped by a softer yen. The stock outperformed a 1.7 percent rise in the Nikkei average

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