Hybrid RAV 4 on the way?
10 December 2002: The next Toyota hybrid could be a RAV 4 SUV, and it is also likely that the first luxury brand hybrid will be a Lexus RX300 SUV, according to reports coming out from the global motor industry.
Toyota has also sold rights for its hybrid technology, pioneered in the Prius, to Nissan, and it is probable we will also soon see a hybrid with that marque's badge.
Ford is also coming out in the US with a hybrid version of its Escape (Maverick here) SUV, and plans are already strongly bedded to have a Volvo wagon hybrid as well. It is also possible that the Land Rover Freelander will get the system, one developed jointly by Toyota and Volvo.
Conservative estimates suggest that by 2007 half a million cars sold in the United States each year will be hybrids.
The US market is seen as a prime market because it is essentially petrol-based, and the Toyota-type petrol/electric hybrid systems show owners a marked improvement in mpg and strong cuts in emissions.
US emissions regulations are based on the range of vehicles produced by any manufacturer, and having a hynrid in the fleet can make a big difference to the overall rating.
Europe has gone the diesel route, with some 40 per cent of all cars over here now being diesels.
Toyota plans to sell 300,000 hybrids worldwide by 2005, including a new Prius in 2003 which Toyota Ireland's Dave Shannon said last week will look much better than the somewhat stodgy style of the Prius.
Honda, whose Civic hybrid (above) is upcoming here next year, may be planning hybrids for the CR-V, and the new Accord. There's also speculation that GM will use the new Saab 9-3 as a pilot hybrid platform.