Councils meeting environmental targets could help Britain's ailing car industry. Local authority fleet-buyers have been snapping up Toyota's hybrid Prius cars in record numbers, as part of their commitment to cutting CO_2 emissions. The car has also found favour with communities secretary, Hazel Blears, who uses one as her ministerial car. Toyota UK confirmed to The MJ that the model was only one of two in its range where sales had increased on the previous year. Demand had been so high that the company had struggled to meet supply. Public sector fleet-buyers had been a 'significant' part of that demand, the company said. This conies despite the deepening credit crunch, which has seen car manufacturers laying off their workforce and bid for government loans because of a slump in demand.
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