Japan's top automaker, which has already won strong interest in its fuel sipping petrol-electric hybrids, will lease one of its Toyota FCHV-adv vehicles to Japan's environment ministry.

Toyota also plans to lease the five-seat sporty vehicle to local governments and companies in, or linked to, the energy industry.

The vehicle runs on hydrogen and uses hybrid technology to reduce fuel consumption. It has a longer cruising distance and performs better in low temperatures compared with its predecessor.

Japanese automakers are in a race to produce fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles amid soaring prices at the pump, spreading their bets on an array of technology including hybrid, electric and fuel cell automobiles.

Honda Motor Co. began producing a next-generation fuel cell vehicle in June and plans to deliver about 200 on lease in the US and Japan in the first three years of production.

Fuel cell vehicles belch out none of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, but their high cost and a lack of hydrogen refueling stations pose obstacles to mainstream use.

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