Keeping track of plug-in car

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 21, 2008

Ask AP is a weekly Q&A column where Associated Press journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

Toyota has announced it will introduce a plug-in hybrid car in 2010. As with electric vehicles produced in the mid-1990s, it will be available only on a lease basis. What is the rationale behind this policy?

Philip Blackwelder, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Many automakers choose leasing rather than selling for products that are totally new and still a bit experimental. That allows them to keep closer tabs on their customers and know how the vehicles are working.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s plug-in car runs on both a gasoline engine and an electric motor, much like the hybrids on the road today, except that it can also be recharged from an ordinary electrical outlet. That allows the plug-in to run longer on electricity - and be more green - than Toyota's Prius and other common hybrids.

This technology is still so new it makes sense that Toyota would want to keep an eye on how the cars are being used.

Another factor is cost. Leasing makes the price of innovative vehicles easier to swallow - shelling out for full retail would be a pricey proposition.

Yuri Kageyama

AP Business Writer, Tokyo

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