Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada has predicted that hybrid vehicles will play a larger role in the future development of automotive propulsion systems than currently thought by the industry.
Hybrids have key advantages which will continue to make them popular with consumers. “Some people say hybrid vehicles such as the Prius are only a bridge to the future. But we think it could be a long bridge and a very sturdy one,” Uchiyamada said. “There are many more gains we can achieve with hybrids.”
Great news, Toyota is a ahead of the game and is currently working on the fourth generation of the Prius. “In each of the previous moves to a new generation, we achieved a 10 percent increase in mileage per gallon,” Uchiyamada said. “We are committed to beating that record this time.”
Toyota offers more types of hybrids than any other manufacturer. As of March 2013, it had sold 5 million hybrid vehicles around the world. And the Prius alone hit a cumulative level of 3 million sales globally in June of this year.
“Today I wish to call on the industry to sell 5 million hybrids in the U.S. by the end of 2016,” Uchiyamada said on October 30th. “It’s only when we put ourselves under the same kind of intense pressure we faced in developing the Prius that we can achieve great goals. That’s what it takes. I want our industry to achieve this goal.”
Special recognition must be given to a new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle which the company is developing. This energy source will have zero tail pipe emissions. Without the issues of driving range and charging time that electric vehicles have, “I personally expect a lot from this hydrogen fuel cell technology,” said Uchiyamada. “Perhaps 15 years from now, we can meet again here in Washington and we will know exactly which system has prevailed,” he added.
Gateway Toyota is proud to be apart of this forward thinking brand and is excited to see what the engineers cook up next!
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Gateway Toyota
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