Toyota Plans Electric Car, Earlier Plug-In Prius Test (Update2)

By Alan Ohnsman

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., working to keep a lead in advanced autos over General Motors Corp., is developing an electric-powered small car and will speed up testing of plug-in Prius hybrids with new battery technology.

The all-electric car will be ``mass-produced'' in the early 2010s, President Katsuaki Watanabe said today in Tokyo without elaborating. Tests of rechargeable Priuses, previously set for 2010, were moved up to late 2009, the automaker said.

The shift by the world's largest seller of hybrid autos reflects rising demand for fuel-efficient cars amid record oil prices. Toyota's new timetable for the plug-in Prius mirrors GM's planned schedule for tests of its rechargeable Volt.

``Toyota is one of those companies that literally have their hand in everything,'' said Ed Kim, director of industry analysis for consultant AutoPacific Inc. With electric cars also coming from Nissan Motor Co., ``it was probably only a matter of time before Toyota decided they want to have one as well.''

Toyota's battery-only car will likely be a small, urban commuter vehicle, spokeswoman Jana Hartline said. She also didn't have details.

Plug-in hybrids can be recharged at a household outlet, unlike the current models that now capture power from braking when the vehicle is in motion. Toyota's rechargeable Prius will use lithium-ion batteries, an advance over the nickel-metal hydride versions in existing hybrids.

More Range

Rechargeable Priuses with extra nickel-metal batteries are now being tested in California and Japan, with a range of about 7 miles on battery power alone. Toyota estimates the new plug- ins will be able to travel 10 miles (16 kilometers) on a charge.

``We'll be studying the range, but think we'll need more than that for a consumer version,'' Toyota spokesman John Hanson said today in an interview from Tokyo. ``Non-consumer fleets'' such as utilities will use the vehicles, Hanson said.

Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, is targeting its first commercial plug-in sales for late 2010, the same debut GM expects for the Volt. The Detroit-based automaker wants the Volt to have as much as 40 miles of all-electric range.

GM will be ``producing through 2009 and most of 2010 large numbers of production Volts,'' though for use only by employees, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told reporters today in Joliet, Illinois. ``We're probably not going to have any public fleets.''

The Volt is ``not comparable'' to Toyota's planned plug-in hybrid, Lutz said. Unlike the current Prius or the new plug-in versions, the engine in the GM vehicle will only recharge the battery pack and won't directly turn the wheels.

Nissan, Mitsubishi

Today's announcement by Toyota follows Nissan's plan to lease small numbers of electric vehicles in the U.S. by 2010 capable of traveling 100 miles on a charge. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also intends to test all-electric i MiEV minicars in California later this year and sell them in Japan.

Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, is building on its own experiments with all electric vehicles, including testing fleets of E-Com electric minicars in Japan. To meet California air- quality regulations, it leased electric versions of its RAV4 small sport-utility vehicle for about a year ended in early 2003; hundreds remain in operation.

``We've definitely seen consumer interest in pure electric vehicles increase, mainly because of environmental concerns and more being written about them,'' said Kim, who is based in Tustin, California, and is a former product planner for Hyundai Motor Co. ``We really don't yet know how well they'll sell.''

Toyota also moved today to shore up its ability to expand sales of current hybrids. Hanson said subsidiary Panasonic EV Energy Co. would add capacity to make nickel-metal packs for as many as 1 million autos by 2010, a threefold increase over last year.

Toyota's American depositary receipts rose 70 cents to $88.70 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have declined 16 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 28, 2008 19:14 EDT

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