Toyota Aims For 1 Million Hybrid Car Sales Annually
Never short on lofty goals and big promises, Toyota has bitten off a big one today as it announced their plans to sell a million (that’s a 1 with 7 zero’s) hybrid vehicles by the early 2010’s. With gas peaking above $3 per gallon here in the States, why not?
Toyota will soon be testing lithium ion battery-powered plug-in hybrids in Japan, Europe and the United States and expects these vehicles to help push them over the top. In development by Panasonic EV Energy Co., the battery-making joint venture between Toyota and Matsushita, Lithium-ion batteries are said to be better suited than currently used NiMH cells in a plug-in type environment. Once the kinks get worked out, expect to (eventually) see Toyota offer a hybrid version of all models in their line-up.
Toyota, to date, has sold about 1.25 million hybrid vehicles since Prius hit the market back in 1997. Honda, Ford, GM and other major automakers are sure to be watching. Failure to be competitive in this market amid soaring oil prices could very well spell f-a-i-l-u-r-e if not careful. We applaud Toyota for becoming a trend-setter in the renewable energy automarket and hope that their plans bring a change of pace in the industry.