Toyota to offer plug-in hybrids by 2010: chief

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — Toyota Motor Corp. will produce a small fleet of plug-in hybrids by 2010, the Japanese automaker's chief said Sunday.

The plug-in hybrid will go head-to-head with US rival General Motor Corp's Chevy Volt, which is also expected to hit the road in 2010.

The test fleet of plug-in hybrids is part of a broader environmental sustainability plan, Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe announced at the Detroit auto show.

Toyota also plans to introduce two all-new dedicated hybrids at next year's Detroit auto show, one under the luxury Lexus brand and the other under the Toyota mark.

They will be based on the same technology which runs Toyota's popular Prius.

"These two introductions will move us closer to our goal of selling a...