Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second- largest automaker, may generate as much as 25 percent of its U.S. sales from gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles by 2010, the company's U.S. sales chief said.

The automaker might have hybrid versions of all its cars and trucks ``eventually,'' Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said. That may take more than 10 to 15 years, said Press, who made the comments in a speech and interview today in Traverse City, Michigan.

Toyota introduced its first hybrid, the Prius car, in 1997 and leads in U.S. sales of the fuel-efficient vehicles. Gas- electric models, including the Prius, the Lexus RX 400h sport- utility vehicle and a version of the Highlander SUV, last month accounted for 14,517, or 6.7 percent, of Toyota's 216,417 total U.S. sales. Toyota has 10 hybrids under development, Press said.

For Toyota, hybrids are ``not a passing phase but a vital technology for the 21st Century,'' he said. The company has a goal of selling 1 million gas-electric vehicles a year ``early in the next decade,'' Press said. ``At our current rate of sales, that's about 600,000 hybrids in the U.S.''

Toyota sold 134,700 of the vehicles worldwide last year.

Hybrids may also account for ``10, 12, 15 percent'' of U.S. industrywide sales by 2010, Press said. The vehicles combine a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Electricity powers the vehicles at low speeds, reducing gasoline usage.

Toyota is studying a hybrid version of its Tundra large pickup truck, Press said. He declined to say when the Toyota City, Japan-based company will make a decision. The automaker last month said it plans to build a gasoline-electric pickup.

The Tundra would be ``a good application,'' Press said. ``It makes a lot of sense in terms of savings. It also provides a lot of answers to questions customers have of big trucks because they use so much fuel.''

Toyota's U.S. sales unit is based in Torrance, California.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Koenig in Traverse City, Michigan wkoenig@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 3, 2005 14:28 EDT