GM, Toyota Bet Hybrid Green. Even as Sales Cool, Auto Makers Hope They Will Help Branding, Bottom Line
December 11, 2006
"Is the hybrid car moment over in America?
Not if Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Corp. can help it. The warring giants of the auto industry are determined to keep gas-electric hybrid vehicle technology in the forefront of their product programs, as well as their corporate advertising and image-building efforts."
and ..."GM isn't about to do a wholesale conversion to battery-driven vehicles. But Mr. Lutz says that he thinks it's possible that within three years, the lithium-ion battery technology that could make a plug-in hybrid viable just might become available. So if GM wants to take advantage of that, it has to start working today on such a vehicle.
Mr. Lutz says that current gas-electric hybrid technology still doesn't make economic sense, given the high costs of the hardware and the relatively low cost of gasoline. "But it doesn't matter," he says. The image boost Toyota received from promoting its leadership on hybrids is priceless."
No comments:
Post a Comment