Toyota is using solar reflective paint to keep cars cooler in the summer

Toyota is giving its 2017 Prius a lime green paint job-and it serves a larger purpose than a change in aesthetic.

On the automaker's Japanese website, Toyota explains that it's using Thermo-Tect lime green paint to absorb sunlight.

The paint, which is the first of its kind for the auto industry, is made without carbon black-a regular ingredient in paint jobs that absorbs sunlight and raises the temperature of the car.

Not only did Toyota strip the paint of carbon black, but it added titanium oxide particles that reflect sunlight to further decrease the amount of sunlight that is absorbed.

The paint could make cars up to nine degrees cooler in hot weather, a Toyota spokesperson told Wired.

The paint job is only available in Japan for roughly $380, and there's no word on if it will come to other markets. We've reached out to Toyota for comment and will update this article with any response we receive.