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Toyota Hybrid Cars
Toyota hybrid cars come in two varieties with more slated to
make an appearance next year. The Prius and the Camry Hybrid
are the only Toyota hybrid cars currently in production and
available to consumers. The 2007
Camry hybrid rolled out in the autumn of 2006 largely
because of the popularity and long waiting lists for the Prius.
The Prius, with an estimated 60 mpg highway has had consumers
on waiting lists as long as six months. Toyota has already announced
that it plans to develop 10 new hybrid vehicles over the next
several years. Besides the Prius, Toyota also has two hybrid SUV's
available to consumers, the Highlander and the Lexus RX400h, both
with long waiting lists of their own.
The Prius is rated a partial zero-emission vehicle by the U.
S. Department of Energy, which is the highest rating a hybrid
car can receive as far as emission of greenhouse gases. Only
fully electric vehicles and hydrogen-powered vehicles receive
a higher rating which is a full zero emission rating.
The Camry is being built in the Georgetown, Kentucky plant
which already manufactures the standard Camry and is able to
build up to 50,000 Camry Hybrids per year. Because of the huge
demand for hybrid cars, Toyota is currently in talks with China
regarding having the Chinese build some of Toyota's hybrid vehicles.
Toyota is only banking on selling 30,000 Camry Hybrids in 2007,
which may be a huge underestimation just as they underestimated
Prius sales.
Toyota hybrid cars will ramp and become the standard in just
a few short years. With oil and gasoline prices being at an
all-time high and consumers interested in reducing smog and
promoting a clean environment, demand will most likely exceed
supply for some time to come and Toyota is happy to accomodate
this demand.
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