Toyota Motor Corp., ranked as the U.S. market's most fuel-efficient automaker, may have to spend more than $1 billion to meet California's requirement for zero-emission cars, said a person familiar with the matter.
Toyota and Honda Motor Co. have the biggest market share in the state and starting with 2012 models must sell the most vehicles that don't pollute, according to California law. The rule requires 3 percent of unit sales over a three-year period to be non-polluting models.
California's requirement for plug-ins and zero-pollution models applies only to companies that sell at least 60,000 vehicles a year in the state. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC's bankruptcies may cut their sales in the state, reducing the costs of compliance.
"The targets of the rule initially would have been GM, Ford and Chrysler because of all their trucks, not Honda and Toyota, which are kind of the environmental darlings," said Jim Hossack, an analyst at consulting firm AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin, California. "It's ironic those two companies could take the biggest hit."
Toyota sold 24.1 percent of new autos in the state in the first quarter of 2009, ahead of Honda's 12.9 percent market share, according to the California New Car Dealers Association. Ford Motor Co. was third with a 12.1 percent share, followed by Nissan Motor Co. at 10.9 percent and GM at 10.4 percent.
The carmaker fell 0.5 percent to 3,810 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo. The shares have gained 32 percent so far this year.
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