Toyota Launches New Hybrid, Honda Warms To Electric

Toyota Motor Corp is ramping up its push on gasoline-electric hybrids, launching a new model in Japan and taking on up-and-coming rival Hyundai Motor Co in its Korean home market with its flagship Prius.

Looking a step beyond hybrids, the head of Honda Motor Co said he was considering launching electric vehicles in the United States, Europe and Japan, indicating a shift in the strategy of Japan’s No.2 car maker for zero-emission cars.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, said on Tuesday it aims to sell 36,000 units a year of its new Sai hybrid sedan in Japan, taking another step toward its goal of selling 1 million hybrid vehicles annually worldwide soon after 2010.

The Sai sedan, which goes on sale in Japan in December with a base price of 3.38 million yen ($37,290), is the second hybrid-only model under the Toyota brand after the less expensive Prius, and is a repackaged version of the Lexus HS250h hybrid.

Toyota is still miles ahead of competitors in the fast-growing hybrid field, which has enjoyed tailwinds especially in Japan thanks to generous subsidies and reduced taxes on cleaner cars.

It expects to sell 500,000 to 600,000 hybrid vehicles globally this year, while facing a short-term battery supply bottleneck for anything further.

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