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Toyota Joins GM in Race for 2010 Plug-In Hybrids

Posted Jan 14, 08 4:15 AM CST in Business,  Technology 

(Newser) – Toyota, the world's leader in hybrid vehicle production, has geared up to deliver by 2010 a gas-electric hybrid car whose batteries will recharge from a normal electrical socket. With the announcement yesterday at the Detroit auto show, Toyota pits itself against General Motors, which has also pledged a plug-in hybrid by 2010, Bloomberg reports.

Toyota and GM face a serious obstacle: the lithium-ion batteries both companies plan to use in their plug-in vehicles do not yet exist in a form "suitable for the long-term rigors of everyday automotive use," said a Toyota executive. The batteries are expensive and hard to produce, and can burn if they overheat.

Source Bloomberg

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In this artist rendering released by Toyota Motor Corp. ahead of Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to public in Chiba, east of Tokyo, on Oct. 27, 2007, a plug-in hybrid sports-utility vehicle, "Hi-CT," is...   (Associated Press)
Reporters get into Toyota Motor Corp.'s plug-in hybrid vehicles for a road test in Tokyo Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Toyota said Wednesday it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle for public road tests...   (Associated Press)
A reporter drives Toyota Motor Corp.'s plug-in hybrid vehicle during a test run in Tokyo Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Toyota said Wednesday it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle for public road tests...   (Associated Press)
A Toyota Motor Corp. employee displays plugs for the automaker's plug-in hybrid vehicle in Tokyo Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Toyota said Wednesday it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle for public road...   (Associated Press)
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Chief Engineer Yoshikazu Tanaka explains the mechanism of the automaker's plug-in hybrid vehicle in Tokyo Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Toyota said Wednesday it has developed a plug-in...   (Associated Press)
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General Motors  • Detroit  • Toyota  • hybrid car  • Detroit Auto Show  • lithium ion batteries


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