Fifty-one vehicles from major automakers such as Toyota and DaimlerChrysler took to the highway including cars that run on fuel cells or on liquified natural gas.

The full-day rally covers 170 kilometers (100 miles) from Kyoto to central Aichi prefecture, the site of the six-month World Exposition which has the theme of clean technology.

French tiremaker Michelin organized the event, saying it was to highlight what the auto industry can do to help the environment.

"Automobiles play significant roles in our society. But we know it is difficult just to increase the number of vehicles in society, considering their impact on the natural environment and in auto accidents," Michelin spokeswoman Yoko Ishii said.

"By showing to people the steps taken by the auto sector, we wanted to promote the industry's contribution to sustainable development," she said.

Japanese automakers have increasingly been focusing on building hybrid vehicles that save gas which are growing popular amid global jitters about oil supply.

Some 10,000 hybrid vehicles were sold across the United States in 2000, but sales are expected to rocket to 1.2 million units by 2008, according to research by Oak Ridge Labs.

The strength of the US market for hybrids comes even though the United States is the main holdout from the Kyoto Protocol, which took effect in February and commits signatory countries to slash emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

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