 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 18, 2010 The world's top automaker Toyota Motor plans to launch 11 new hybrid models by the end of 2012, the company said Thursday, as the race to build more environmentally friendly vehicles heats up. The planned vehicles, consisting of all-new and redesigned models, will expand Toyota's hybrid-engine range -- which runs on gasoline and electricity -- at a time when rivals such as Nissan are developing all-electric vehicles. The automaker is eyeing annual sales of more than 50,000 units for a Prius-based plug-in hybrid to be launched by early 2012 in Japan, the United States and Europe, with a price tag of around 3 million yen (36,045 dollars). It is also planning to launch an all-electric vehicle based on its current iQ minicar, which will be introduced in Japan and Europe, with a China launch also under consideration. Toyota's rivals have moved to embrace the nascent electric vehicle market, with Nissan soon to launch its all-electric Leaf, which produces no tailpipe emissions -- a car which has become the fulcrum of Nissan's green ambitions. But Toyota has so far only dipped its toes into the all-electric market, with its president Akio Toyoda last week offering a cautious outlook, citing as a major obstacle the creation of a convenient recharging system. His comments came as Toyota showcased its "RAV4 EV" concept vehicle that is on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show in the US this month. The all-electric version of Toyota's RAV4 sports utility vehicle was developed with Tesla Motors, the US electric vehicle firm in which Toyota owns a 50-million-dollar stake. The new plans come as the automaker works to rebuild an image plagued by safety recalls in the past year over unintended acceleration, engine, steering and brake problems. The recalls affected around 12 million vehicles in total. Toyota added Thursday that it intends to introduce a fuel-cell powered sedan-type car around 2015 in the US, Europe and Japan. It is aiming for a price tag of under 10 million yen. It is also ramping up efforts to develop next generation batteries that outperform current lithium-ion models.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Car Technology at SpaceMart.com
China's SAIC agrees to buy one percent of GM: reportShanghai (AFP) Nov 15, 2010 China's leading automaker SAIC Motor Corp has agreed in principle to buy a minority stake in General Motors at the US auto giant's initial public offering, state media reported Monday. SAIC, which has two vehicle production joint ventures with GM in China, may buy about one percent of GM for around 500 million dollars, the China Securities Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. SAIC p ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
