Lentz: Hydrogen Sedans By 2015 From A Spread-Betting Toyota

AutomakerS around the world seem to have colluded to turn 2015 into the Hydrogen year. Yesterday in Nagoya (a trip into which TTAC invested 21,160 yen, and the price of a bento box, no freebie jaunts in Japan) , Toyota's NA CEO Jim Lentz confirmed that the Hydrogen Year is still on the calendar. Lentz promised that "the first fuel cell sedan coming to the U.S. in 2015." Fuel cell technology is a high stakes bet, but it is not Toyota's only one. Said Lentz: "We will continue to promote more advanced technologies from plug-ins to EVs as well as fuel cells, and we will continue to make improvements to the internal combustion engine." This reiterates statements made by Toyota's new energy maven Satoshi Ogiso two years ago. It is far from clear which alternative energy will succeed in the market, therefore, betting on just one would be, well, ill-advised. To bet on the right technology, said Ogiso, a large automaker must bet on all: "We must go multi track. We must improve gasoline and diesel engines. We must increase the number of hybrid models. We must produce the plug-in hybrid. We must develop city commuter electric vehicles. We already started small production of fuel cell vehicles. We must do all these improvements at the same time." Of course, Toyota remains bullish on hybrid technology. 15 percent of Toyota's cars sold worldwide are hybrid-powered, Lentz said. Full-size hybrid trucks and SUVs, powered by a hybrid drivetrain jointly developed with Ford, should become available "later in the decade," Lentz promised. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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