Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to equip its popular Prius Hybrid car with solar panels, which would help power the air conditioner.

The panels, made by Kyocera, would produce 2 to 5 kilowatts of electricity, same as the electricity produced by a typical household rooftop panel.

The Automotive air-conditioning systems are powered by the car's engine only, which results in an increased load on the engine, hence reducing the fuel efficency. By using a combination of solar panel and electric motor, the load from the engine will be reduced. In the end, this would save gas and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

A U.S. company called SEV has already demonstrated a solar-powered Prius that increases fuel efficiency by 29 percent.

Toyota has sold more than 1 million Prius Hybrid cars worldwide, since it was introduced in 2000. But we'll have to wait until 2009 to see whether Toyota's improvements make a real difference.