Wednesday, automotive major Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) announced taking a number of initiatives to achieve a low carbon society, including accelerating production of hybrid vehicles and developing vehicles that reduce emission of carbon dioxide.
Soaring fuel prices have automakers racing to develop fuel-efficient vehicles or alternative fuels. The hybrid vehicle uses two or more power sources, driving greater fuel efficiency. Toyota intends to use hybrid technology as a core means to reduce oil consumption through energy diversification.
Toyota is working to imbibe the hybrid technology to create various models and increase the technology's popularity. The company noted that according to its calculations, Toyota's hybrid vehicle Prius reached 1 million units this past April, with overall use of these vehicles emitting about 7 million fewer tons of CO2 and reducing gasoline consumption by about 2.7 million kiloliters. The company aims to achieve sales of 1 million hybrid vehicles annually, as early in the 2010s as possible.
Recently, the automaker had announced its intention to manufacture hybrid vehicles in Thailand and Australia. The Australian government has said it would provide a subsidy of A$35 million for the operation.
Toyota Motor stated it would introduce a plug-in hybrid vehicle equipped with a lithium-ion battery by 2010. The electric vehicle is currently undergoing various verification tests in Japan. The promising plug-in hybrid vehicle can potentially be used as electric vehicles for short trips and as conventional hybrid vehicles for traveling longer distances.
The company will install a battery research department to invent a next-generation battery that can out-perform the lithium-ion battery. The joint venture of Toyota Motor and the Matsushita Group, Panasonic EV Energy Co., Ltd., will begin limited production of lithium-ion batteries in 2009, moving into full-scale production in 2010.
The company is conducting research on alternative fuel, developing the TOYOTA Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle or FCHV-adv. The working of a fuel cell is that it converts hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process generates electricity.
Additionally, Toyota stated that it was taking steps to decrease carbon by strategically implementing "sustainable plant" activities, recycling wastewater, and planting numerous trees as part of its plant "greening" activities.
TM closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $101.59, down $1.00 and in the after hours trading dipped further by 9 cents.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.