Why Toyota believes in hybrids - it's all about kaizen

Toyota has become the undisputed leader in hybrid cars. For years, most of the auto-industry joked about Toyota's hybrid investment. Yet, Toyota just pushed along.

Why?

OK, first, it's important to discuss one main difference between Toyota and most of the rest of the automotive universe - especially those of the western world - kaizen. Kaizen, essentially, is continuous improvement. Because things change, especially when there is competition, one must always seek to improve in order to get better and compete.

Seem obvious?

I agree. Yet, why were most SUVs built upon a truck platform, even when studies showed that a wider wheel base would make SUVs much less prone to rollover? Because it was more profitable for U.S. automakers not to improve the design of SUVs - at least in the short term.

In the U.S., profit, not improvement, is the holy grail.

More important, Toyota does acknowledge that cars require vast amounts of energy to function, i.e., trillions of dollars of gasoline, refined from environmentally destructive oil. To ignore this would be to ignore kaizen; therefore, Toyota didn't give up when the first Prius hybrid car was laughed at by automotive 'experts'.

Now Toyota is producing 100,000 Prius for the U.S. market alone this year, and the Lexus RX400h hybrid and the Toyota Highlander hybrid will be joining the Prius soon - with many more models coming.

Still, many analysts and auto executives continue to question hybrids. Diesel is better, the future is hydrogen and fuel cells, it's just too expensive.

So why then does Toyota continue?

First, diesels are not better. While new diesels are superior to gasoline engines, the Prius hybrid is much more efficient, particularly in tank-to-wheel fuel production efficiency, than diesels. More important, the gasoline engine of a hybrid could be replaced with a diesel and become even more efficient.

Second, at this point in time hydrogen powered vehicles are significantly less efficient than the Prius at well-to-tank efficiency, though some do surpass the Prius in tank-to-wheel efficiency.

The point is, hydrogen is not an efficient fuel source at this point in time - despite all the hoopla most auto executives claim. Additionally, the costs are still astronomical.

Third, even if hydrogen and/or fuel cells are the future, Toyota is already building its fuel cell cars on the Prius, Highlander, and RX400h platforms. So, every hybrid sold is an investment in Toyota's continuous improvement towards fuel cells - all the while continually and significantly improving fuel efficiency and polluting emissions.

Therefore, Toyota believes in hybrids, not only because the technology is superior to the internal combustion engine alone, but because it allows all powertrain improvements - whether gas, diesel, electric, or hydrogen - to be incorporated into its production.

Thus, Toyota believes in hybrids because the hybrid powertrain offers the most ability to continuously improve - it's all about kaizen.