Toyota says battery-vehicle hype may hurt tech, sales

• Source: Gasgoo.com
• [08:34 September 24 2009]
• Comments

Toyota FT-HS Hybrid

Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest seller of hybrid autos, said carmakers risk damaging the long-term reputation of battery-powered vehicles by over-promising on what the technology can deliver.

"Managing expectations is critical," Michael O'Brien, Toyota's US corporate manager for advanced technology vehicle planning, said at a briefing in Sacramento, California, September 22. "If consumers are disappointed, market adoption is not guaranteed and that can permanently harm the technology's image and future market potential."

Companies need to give accurate estimates for driving ranges and recharge times, particularly because battery-powered cars will be much more expensive than traditional gasoline models, O'Brien said. Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Tesla Motors Inc. are among carmakers planning battery-powered autos as environmental concerns spur demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.

"Consumers will not widely adopt a new technology product unless it is better in every way than what is available," O'Brien said. "Anecdotal evidence of robust markets is not a substitute for true market acceptance."

Toyota has learned lessons from building and selling electric cars and hybrids, as well as producing batteries in- house, since the 1990s, he added. The carmaker plans to deliver plug-in Prius hybrids with lithium batteries to US fleets this year and sell a battery-powered electric minicar by 2012.

Range Tests

Nissan has said its Leaf electric car that goes on sale next year travels 100 miles (161 kilometers) per charge, while electric carmaker Tesla lists the range of its $109,000 Roadster as 244 miles.

(Bloomberg)