Toyota sees an all-hybrid future
Toyota EVP Kazuo Okamoto announced in Frankfurt that he expects all Toyotas to be gasoline-electric hybrids in
future. Meanwhile, Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told an investor's conference in New York that the company is
targeting sales of 400,000 hybrids in 2006, 60 percent more than 2005's projected sales. By 2010, the company plans to
sell 1 million hybrids worldwide, about 10 percent of forecast sales. Hopefully, Toyota's
CS&S hybrid concept car (at right) shows that they
won't all be Prii.
Trying to capitalize on its first-mover advantage over GM and Ford, Watanabe says the company is focused on cutting
production costs for hybrids, reducing the price premium over gasoline-only vehicles to about $2,500.
With a reported R&D budget of $6.9
billion, Toyota seems to have the horsepower to carry out its hybrid strategy. Much more
here and
here.
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