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Category: Toyota

Toyota ratchets up the green pressure

Toyota Motor Corp., raising the ante with General Motors Corp. and other automakers in the race to market more fuel efficient light vehicles and meet tougher environmental regulations, announced plans today to market a plug-in hybrid by 2010 for commercial use, and will introduce additional dedicated gasoline-electric hybrids for the Toyota and Lexus brands a year from now.

But in perhaps the automaker's biggest salvo, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe vowed to meet the U.S. government's tough new fuel economy standards - they require an automaker's fleet average 35 miles per gallon by 2020 - well ahead of the deadline.

"As always, we will not wait until the deadline to comply," Watanabe said. "I have issued a challenge to our engineers to meet the new standard well in advance. Toyota is capable of doing it."

Toyota plans to offer a fleet of plug-in hybrids for commercial test purposes by 2010. A plug-in hybrid can be recharged using household current, while offering a range of 200 miles or more in conjunction with small gasoline or diesel engines.

GM is also planning to market a plug-in hybrid by 2010, though the battery technology needed to pull it off is still under development by multiple companies scrambling to overcome hurdles, such as fire risks.

In addition to the plug-in hybrid, Watanabe said Toyota planned to meet the more stringent fuel economy targets in other ways.

Toyota will introduce a clean diesel V-8 engine to power the Toyota Tundra pickup and Sequoia sport-utility vehicle in the near future.

And the automaker is also expanding a joint-venture with Panasonic to boost lithium battery production for automotive use.

The additional, dedicated hybrid models for Toyota and Lexus would join the Toyota Prius, and help Toyota reach a goal of selling 1 million hybrid models a year in the next decade.

The success of the Prius - U.S. sales reached 180,000 units in 2007 - is prompting Toyota to expand the brand with other models, such as a wagon.

Toyota currently spends $1 million per hour on research and development to engineer cars and technologies of the future, Watanabe said.