Toyota says hybrids will be the best 'green' car for some time
TOYOTA, Japan -- A Toyota executive said Thursday a battery breakthrough is needed for electric vehicles to become mainstream, and hybrids will remain the best "green" car choice for some time.
His comments came just hours after the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said Toyota's Prius hybrid was the No. 1 selling vehicle in Japan for May, clinching the top spot for the first time — even though the latest model had been on sale for only half the month.
Toyota Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto said the hybrid system, like the one in the Prius, is the "most important of our energy-saving technologies," and reiterated that his company plans to have a hybrid version of its entire lineup of products by 2020.
Despite various initiatives to promote electric vehicles around the world, the battery needed to power them still needs drastic improvement and can now offer only short-distance urban commuting, Takimoto told reporters at the automaker's headquarters in Toyota City in central Japan.
Other automakers, like Nissan, while working on hybrids, have been more bullish about electric vehicles.
Takimoto pointed to the plug-in hybrid as a practical option.
A plug-in recharges from a regular household socket, and can run longer as an electric vehicle than a regular hybrid. When the battery runs low, plug-ins start running as a regular hybrid so drivers don't have to worry about running out of juice on the road.
On Wednesday, Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, said it will start releasing plug-in hybrid cars — based on the new Prius — by the end of this year in the U.S., Japan and Europe. However, only 500 will be available worldwide in the beginning.
The Prius is the cumulative top seller among hybrids. Toyota has sold 1.27 million Prius cars around the world since it went on sale in 1997.
The Prius is a bright spot for Toyota, which has recently racked up its worst loss since its 1937 founding.
In May, Toyota sold 10,915 Prius cars in Japan, beating Honda's new hybrid, the Insight, the top-seller in April. The Insight fell to third at 8,183 vehicles.
