Toyota to double hybrid lineup by 2010

"We believe that hybrids will be the core technology in the 21st century," said Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of technology development, at a news conference. Thus, around 2010 Toyota will like to double its hybrid vehicle lineup from today's 7 to around 14 - leading to total sales of around 1 million hybrid cars. Moreover, Toyota wants to cut hybrid costs in half and further develop hybrid batteries - something the automaker indicated it was close to doing. Toyota also acknowledged that it was working on a plug-in hybrid vehicle.