Business | Automotives
Toyota lays out big green push with hybrids, electric vehicles
Targets sale of more than 50,000 plug-in Prius annually
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 November 19, 2010
- Image Credit: Bloomberg
- A recalled Toyota third-generation Prius hybrid vehicle is tested in Seoul, South Korea. Toyota recalled 437,000 Prius and other gasoline-electric hybrids globally to fix a brake software glitch.
Tokyo : Toyota Motor Corporation yesterday unveiled big plans for staying in front in clean-car technology as rivals race to play catch-up, saying it would launch 11 new hybrids and a rechargeable Prius that may cost as little as $36,000 (Dh132,210).
Having dominated the hybrid field for over a decade with the iconic Prius and 13 other models so far, the world's top automaker has won a reputation as the most advanced car maker in next-generation technology.
But with governments tightening environmental and fuel economy standards, competitors are turning up the heat with new technologies including battery electric cars and "range extenders" such as General Motors's Volt, which generates electricity on-board with a gasoline engine.
Toyota said one of its 11 new hybrid cars to be rolled out by the end of 2012 would be a compact with fuel efficiency exceeding 40 km/litre measured under Japanese test cycles — the highest for a gasoline-electric model.Investors showed little immediate reaction to Toyota's announcement, limiting its shares' gains to 1.4 per cent in Tokyo compared with a 2.2 per cent rise in Tokyo's main index.
"The news is neither positive nor negative in my opinion," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a manager at SMBC Friend Securities.
"Toyota had a lead with the Prius, but the Chevrolet Volt will likely grab attention at GM's listing.
Like Nissan's Leaf, attention is also shifting towards electric vehicles, and in the eyes of stock investors, hybrids might seem rather inferior."
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