The nascent hybrid vehicle market is set to spread to China next year, with Japanese automotive firm Toyota detailing plans to build hybrid cars in the region.

Toyota says it will link up with First Automotive Works (FAW) Group to make Prius hybrid sedans, including the potential for a FAW-branded hybrid vehicle.

The deal marries one of the world's largest car manufacturers with the biggest Chinese automotive firm, with a spokesman identifying the industrial city of Changchun in north eastern China as the assembly line location.

By the end of 2005 Toyota and FAW Group say they hope to be contributing to the "promotion of hybrid vehicles in China as well as to the further development of the Chinese automobile industry".

No details have been given on production figures at the plant, but the move follows an announcement from General Motors, which is aiming to commercialize zero-emission cars in the region by 2010, and also the wider sentiments of the industry.

China is currently tightening its emissions legislation as its automotive industry grows, with the government also aiming to significantly raise the average fuel efficiency on vehicles.

Hybrids and cleaner diesel engines for passenger cars are expected to be the key tools in achieving this goal.