Toyota's 'plug-in' hybrid due by 2010

BY HINAKO TOMINOMORI, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

DETROIT--Toyota Motor Corp. said it will start selling hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles that can be recharged from the wall sockets of regular households by the end of 2010.

The company is expected to become the world's first automaker to launch plug-in hybrids commercially.

President Katsuaki Watanabe, who was attending the North American International Auto Show here, said Sunday that rent-a-car and taxi companies as well as government agencies are the initial target for such vehicles.

The automaker, which primarily targets the U.S. market, also plans to sell them in Europe and Japan.

Plug-in hybrids will be partly powered by a lithium-ion battery, which is more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride battery used in its Prius hybrids.

The lithium-ion battery is expected to enable vehicles to run for a longer distance on electricity alone.

When the lithium-ion battery becomes depleted or the vehicle accelerates quickly, the gasoline engine, or another power source, takes over.

Toyota has been testing the next-generation hybrids on highways in Japan, the United States and Europe since 2007.

The automaker is considering mass-producing lithium-ion batteries at Panasonic EV Energy Co.'s Omori plant in Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture.

Panasonic EV Energy is a joint venture set up by Toyota and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. to develop and manufacture batteries for hybrid vehicles.

Watanabe also said it will launch a Tundra pickup truck and a Sequoia sports utility vehicle equipped with a new V8 clean-diesel engine in the United States in the near future.

The move reflects part of the company's efforts to push its commitment to curbing emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. It comes as the United States shifts to a tougher stance on emissions.

The existing Tundra and Sequoia models have been sold only in the United States.

Watanabe said that the company will unveil two new hybrid models, one under the Toyota brand and the other under the luxury Lexus line, at next year's auto show in Detroit.

The step is aimed at expanding the market for hybrids, where the automaker has enjoyed an edge over its U.S. rivals.(IHT/Asahi: January 16,2008)