Thursday, July 12, 2007

Toyota's U.S. Chief Forecasts an All-Hybrid Future


Toyota Motor North America President Jim Press forecasts that hybrids will become the mainstream cars of the future and calls the company's Prius hybrid "the forerunner." Quoted by Bloomberg News, Press says the popular Prius will be seen as similar to "the Model T when you look back."

He also commented that people are not buying "gas-guzzler" vehicles "for image any longer." This is interesting in light of a report by CNW Marketing Research that showed 57 percent of Prius buyers choosing the hybrid car largely because of its image.

To date, hybrids make up slightly more than 2 percent of vehicles sold in the United States. However, more than half of Toyota's 1 million hybrids sold worldwide to date have been sold in the U.S., and Toyota Motor Sales has targeted a quarter-million hybrid sales in 2007.

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