Toyota doesn't see plug-in hybrids coming to market soon

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Toyota Motor Co., the global leader in the production of hybrid vehicles, is studying a plug-in version which owners could recharge at home but doesn't see it coming to market anytime soon. "There's one very important technological obstacle which is in the battery area," Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president at Toyota Motor Corp. for research, product development and advanced technology, told reporters at the North American International Auto Show. "We have to develop batteries far superior to lithium-ion ones -- stronger, lighter, smaller and longer-lasting. Currently, all over the world, efforts to improve batteries are in the early stages. For commercialization, it may take quite some time." Asked what powertrain technologies he foresaw emerging as the dominant ones in the future, Takimoto said the vehicles of the future would reflect the most plentiful types of fuel (hydrogen, ethanol, natural gas, electricity, etc.), and that would vary by region. He suggested the uniformity seen over the past century -- with nearly all vehicles powered by internal combustion engines running on petroleum-based products -- would give way to a more diversified industry. "It depends on the energy landscape. There's a strong possibility that various types of energies will be used in different parts of the world. We believe we have to be prepared to cope with a situation in which there are multiple solutions." He said Toyota was pursuing the development of hybrid technology, viewing it as applicable to most future powertrains because it recovers energy during the braking of the vehicle.


Toyota Press.