Tokyo, January 31, 2008: Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today it has developed the world's first car seat fabric that helps prevent mite allergens from becoming active in a vehicle's cabin.  The new fabric is to be offered in vehicle models scheduled for launch in Japan in the near future.

Mite allergens—known to be a cause of allergy-related disorders—accumulate on a vehicle's seats after transfer by clothing and can be forced into the air, or otherwise become unsettled, due to movement by vehicle occupants or other factors.  The new seat fabric developed by TMC contains an anti-allergen agent that envelops approximately 98% of the mite allergens that settle on a seat's treated surfaces.  The long-lasting agent does not affect the color or texture of the seat fabric.

Other initiatives for improving vehicle-cabin comfort include the introduction of Fraichir 4 seats (featuring fibers coated with sericin, a protein extracted from natural silk that reduces skin irritation), an automatic air conditioner with both a fast-acting pollen-reduction mode and Plasmacluster Ion.