Toyota said Wednesday it will introduce a plug-in hybrid vehicle with next-generation lithium-ion batteries in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010. The ecological gas-electric vehicles, which can be recharged from a home electrical outlet, will target fleet customers, Toyota Motor Corp. said in a statement. Such plug-in hybrids can run longer as an electric vehicle than regular hybrids.
Lithium-ion batteries, now common in laptops, produce more power and are smaller than nickel-metal hydride batteries common in most hybrids now.
The joint venture that Toyota set up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., whichmakes Panasonic products, will begin producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and move into full-scale production in 2010, Toyota said.
Toyota also said it's setting up a battery research department later this month to develop an innovative battery that can outperform even that lithium-ion battery.
Japan's top automaker, which leads the industry in gas-electric hybrids, has said it will rev up hybrid sales to 1 million a year sometime after 2010.
Hybrids reduce pollution and emissions that are linked to global warming by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor to deliver better mileage than comparable standard cars. Their popularity is growing amid soaring oil prices and worries about global warming.
The Prius, which has been on sale for more than a decade, recently reached cumulative sales of 1 million vehicles. When including other Toyota hybrids, the company said it sold 1.5 million hybrids so far around the world.
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