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Toyota Going All Hybrid By 2020?
Toyota, the company that introduced the very popular Prius hybrid to the U.S. market in 2001, is now leading the way towards a complete hybrid lineup by the year 2020.
The automaker says it's working toward the goal of offering a hybrid version of all its vehicles by 2020--while still allowing for other fuels in its lineup, including gasoline alone.
This is not all altruism and concern for the environment on Toyota's part; GM, Ford, Nissan and Honda are causing the competition for environmentally-minded drivers' dollars and euros to heat up. GM's 2011 Chevrolet Volt promises to cut into the Prius' market share, and Honda will be tossing its own hat into the ring at the 2008 Paris Auto Show with a new 2010 Insight hybrid vehicle that is smaller and cheaper. Ford's forthcoming Fusion and Milan hybrid promise to offer greater economy than the Camry hybrid, while rival Nissan will be introducing an all-electric vehicle for sometime after 2010.
The Prius of course is not Toyota's only current hybrid offering. The success of the Prius has led to hybrid versions of several other popular Toyota models, including the Camry, the Highlander, and - over at the company's Lexus Division - the GS and LS sedans. The new Toyota A-BAT pickup, which shares the Prius' Hybrid Synergy Drive System, may bring out the Prius' appeal in men who - either for work reasons or for image - must simply have a pickup truck.
It seems like an ambitious project, creating a full-line of hybrid vehicles within little over a decade - but times and conditions call for such ambition, and if "market forces" can spur environmental innovation, so much the better.
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