Toyota announced Monday that it plans to expand there green vehicle lineup by 2015 due to the growing concerns over the constant rise of gas prices and global warming. The key component to Toyota's current plan is the announcement of a $50,000 hydrogen-powered car that will be available for purchase by 2015.
"Our target is, we don't lose money with introduction of the vehicle," said Yoshihiko Masuda, Toyota's managing director for advanced autos in a press release.
While Masuda acknowledged that the market would be small, they still expect the car to become a revolutionary success while changing the way people go about buying a car. Toyota did not provide any other specific details about the vehicle.
The company has said that they have cut the cost of making a hydrogen fuel cell car by 90 percent in the past five years. They have accomplished this by reducing platinum use to about one-third the previous level and finding cheaper ways to make the thin film used in the fuel cells and the carbon-fiber hydrogen fuel tanks.
Many different automakers have serious plans to sell a fuel-cell vehicle by 2015, including Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and General Motors.
The auto company is expecting to sell at least 1 million hybrid cars yearly between 2013 through 2015, although they are aware that they also have to cut costs to help increase profitability and to help sales rise.
"We plan to launch 21 new or full-model-change hybrids by the end of 2015. Profits from conventional (gasoline) powered costs are still higher, so we need to reduce hybrid cars more in order to promote their diffusion," said Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota's vice chairman and R&D head to The Huffington Post.
By the end of 2012, Toyota will introduce its electric compact called eQ in the U.S. and in Japan. This model will be based off of the innovative and successful iQ model.
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