Toyota Motor Corp. wants hybrids to make up 25% of its US sales by early in the next decade and is considering adding the technology to its entire line-up, including trucks, Toyota’s North American president Jim Press said at an annual automotive conference in Michigan, according to the Associated Press.
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“To us, it’s not a passing phase but a vital technology for the 21st century,” Press reportedly said.
The Associated Press noted that Press spoke as Toyota announced that its profits fell 7% in its first fiscal quarter due to research costs and a stronger yen. The news was better in the United States, where Toyota announced Tuesday that July was its best-ever month for US sales.
Press reportedly said Toyota wants to sell a million hybrids worldwide by early in the next decade. That would require the automaker to sell 600,000 hybrids in the United States, or about one-quarter of its projected sales.
AP noted that such a goal would require a significant increase in US hybrid sales. A total of 83,153 hybrids were sold in the United States last year, according to RL Polk & Co. data cited by the news agency, and Toyota’s Prius dominated that market, with 53,761 new cars registered.
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By GlobalDataAccording to AP, Press said Toyota will meet its goal by aggressively introducing new models – it has already launched the hybrid Lexus RX 400h in April and the Toyota Highlander in June – and will introduce hybrid versions of the Lexus GS sedan and the Toyota Camry next year.
In addition, Press reportedly said, Toyota has 10 hybrids under development.
“People are buying hybrids for good reasons beyond fuel economy,” Press said, according to the Associated Press. “They realize hybrids are a simple way to make an important difference in curtailing foreign-oil dependence.”
AP noted that Anthony Pratt, an analyst with JD Power and Associates, has said that the purchase price premium will limit sales of hybrids to less than 5% of the US market by 2011.
But Press reportedly is more bullish on the future of hybrids, saying the price will go down as more hybrids are produced.
RL Polk analyst Lonnie Miller has said hybrids could make up 35% of the US market by 2015 as long as automakers are committed to them, the Associated Press added.
According to the report, Press said Toyota expects fierce competition for the coming influx of Generation Y car buyers and noted that 20 million people in the United States will be reaching driving age in the next five years.
“Make no mistake about it: Detroit automakers are rebuilding and preparing for a new era of prosperity,” Press said, according to AP. “They will force all of us to get up on our toes.”
