Around the world, people use different types of vehicles to suit their lifestyle and their local environment. Some may only need a small car for short urban journeys, while others require a larger and more powerful vehicle to make regular long-distance trips. Concern about the environment and cutting carbon emissions cuts across these differences, which is why we believe there is no single solution when it comes to creating the ultimate eco-car. With our hybrid system we have produced a low carbon technology that can be used in multiple ways to address these different demands.

Ever since vehicles began using the internal combustion engine in the late 19th century, they have largely relied on fossil fuels that produce CO2 and contribute to global warming. While conventional engines will continue to play an important role in the short to medium term, we are researching and developing alternatives such as biofuels from organic sources, electricity and, more recently, hydrogen. With this multi-path approach we aim to secure better environmental performance by providing the right car, in the right place, at the right time.

With the launch of the Mirai, the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell electric sedan, our range of advanced, alternative power vehicles continues to grow, taking our technology out of the research laboratory and on to the road. In addition, we have also developed battery electric vehicles, such as the prototype i-ROAD and COMS, designed for urban mobility and the subject of real-world testing for integrated transport systems in different cities around the world.

By the early 2020s, we plan to make more than 10 battery electric models available in world markets. These zero-emissions vehicles create a technical roadmap for our journey towards the ultimate eco-car – one which aims to have no harmful impact on the environment.

Our range includes an ever-increasing number of hybrid electric vehicles and a rechargeable plug-in hybrid electric. We are continuing to make our petrol-electric hybrid technology even more efficient and compact, introducing the Toyota Hybrid System II in the current Prius and other models.

We are also making a more powerful version available and are engineering a simpler hybrid system for some of our cars.

To achieve our goals, we can call on our industry-leading experience of having already sold more than 12 million electrified vehicles worldwide since we introduced hybrid electric technology to the car market with the original Toyota Prius in 1997. With constant improvement of our hybrid know-how and by monitoring the way people choose and use their cars, we are able to deliver technical innovation in ever-better vehicles that combine more environmentally friendly performance with strong customer appeal.

Our multi-award-winning Hybrid Synergy Drive hybrid power system is the core technology shared by all the different powertrains in our roadmap. The fact it is modular in design means that it can easily be adapted for use in different types of vehicle. In plug-in hybrid electric vehicles it is largely unchanged, but uses a more powerful battery that can be recharged from an external power supply. In battery electric vehicles its format is simpler with no petrol engine and a more powerful electric motor. In fuel cell electric hybrids the petrol engine is replaced by the fuel cell stack, to generate electricity from hydrogen fuel with no harmful tailpipe emissions.