Toyota Joins GM in Race for 2010 Plug-In Hybrids

Drivers could recharge cars with normal socket
By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 14, 2008 4:15 AM CST
Toyota Joins GM in Race for 2010 Plug-In Hybrids
In this artist rendering released by Toyota Motor Corp. ahead of Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to public in Chiba, east of Tokyo, on Oct. 27, 2007, a plug-in hybrid sports-utility vehicle, "Hi-CT," is shown. The offbeat model expected to be on display at the show which stands for "hi ride city truck"...   (Associated Press)

Toyota, the world's leader in hybrid vehicle production, has geared up to deliver by 2010 a gas-electric hybrid car whose batteries will recharge from a normal electrical socket. With the announcement yesterday at the Detroit auto show, Toyota pits itself against General Motors, which has also pledged a plug-in hybrid by 2010, Bloomberg reports.

Toyota and GM face a serious obstacle: the lithium-ion batteries both companies plan to use in their plug-in vehicles do not yet exist in a form "suitable for the long-term rigors of everyday automotive use," said a Toyota executive. The batteries are expensive and hard to produce, and can burn if they overheat. (More Toyota stories.)

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