Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday that it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle for public road tests in Japan and plans the tests for the US and Europe.
Other major automakers, including General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co of the US, are developing plug-in hybrids, a key technology that reduces the gases causing global warming.
Plug-in hybrids, including Toyota's, generally have batteries that power an electric motor, with an internal combustion engine for use when the batteries run low. The batteries can be recharged by plugging them into a standard wall outlet.
But they run longer on electricity, especially for shorter distances, than the more common hybrids on the roads like Toyota's Prius.
Toyota said it was the first manufacturer to receive government approval to conduct such tests for a plug-in hybrid on Japanese public roads, and will collect information about the tests from eight such vehicles for the government about emissions and fuel efficiency.
The Toyota executive in charge of technology, Masatami Takimoto, said the approval came Wednesday morning. He said concerns about clean air, global warming and decreasing dependence on oil were important for the future.
"But we must first take steps to use oil carefully,'' he told reporters in Tokyo. Plug-in hybrids, which also have an engine, avoid the problem of pure electric cars that carries the worry about recharging and running out of electricity on the road, he said.
Mass production of plug-ins is so far being held back by costs and battery technology that limit the vehicles' range.
Manufacturers are racing to bring the technology to market as consumers seek alternatives to traditional engines and high gasoline prices.
Although most automakers are working on hybrids, Toyota has the advantage of 10 years of experience in selling the technology, and in using feedback from drivers to make improvements, rather than relying on information from labs.
Toyota has placed a large emphasis on hybrid technology: It offers several other hybrid models, including the hybrid Camry and hybrid Lexus models. It has set a target of selling a million hybrids a year as soon as possible after 2010.
The more common hybrids such as the Prius switch between an electric motor and gas engine to deliver better mileage. They don't need to be plugged in to recharge because they recharge the motor as they run converting the energy from the wheels and braking.
In June, Toyota said its cumulative sales of hybrids passed 1 million vehicles, a landmark for the automaker that started selling the Prius a decade ago and now dominates the hybrid market.
General Motors is developing the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, and says it hopes its plug-ins can reach showrooms by 2010.
Earlier this month, Ford announced a partnership with Southern California Edison to test rechargeable hybrid vehicles and hasten mass production of plug-in hybrids.
Ford has been testing plug-in hybrids based on the Escape sport-utility vehicle, for one, but has not said when it plans to start mass producing them.
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