Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe says the company's third-generation hybrids, coming in late 2008 or early 2009, will replace NiMH battery packs with lighter, more powerful lithium-ion batteries. "We will change the battery from nickel hydride to the lithium battery," Watanabe told BusinessWeek. This is the first confirmation by Toyota that the lithium-ion batteries will be ready in time for the next wave of Toyota hybrids.
"We are now aiming at reducing, by half, both size and cost of the third-generation hybrid system," Watanabe added. The changes should improve fuel efficiency — though Toyota won't say yet how much — and help put hybrid prices on a par with gasoline-driven cars. They could also dampen criticism of Toyota's continuing focus on monster trucks and complaints that some current Toyota hybrids (such as the Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander SUVs) don't offer much better fuel efficiency than their gas-only siblings.
Hitting that target would give Toyota a leg-up on Detroit automakers, which are already looking to Washington for subsidies to fuel their own battery R&D. The danger for Toyota is that if its lithium-ion batteries roll out before they're ready for prime time, it could hurt Toyota's already bruised reputation for quality — a large-scale, Sony-style battery recall is the last thing Toyota needs.
[Source: BusinessWeek]
