Toyota matches GM's plans for alternative-fuel vehicles

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-080113-toyota-altfuel,0,487...8.story

Toyota matches GM's plans for alternative-fuel vehicles
By Rick Popely | Tribune staff reporter
7:11 PM CST, January 13, 2008

DETROIT - Hours after General Motors used the Detroit Auto Show to
announce a partnership to produce ethanol from non-food sources, rival
Toyota did the same, saying it is doing in-house research to derive
ethanol from wood.

President Katsuaki Watnabe also said Toyota would have a test fleet of
hundreds plug-in hybrids on the road in 2010, using lithium-ion
battery technology. That's the same year GM plans to begin building a
production plug-in, the Chevrolet Volt, that can travel 40 miles on
lithium-ion power.

Toyota and GM are battling for global auto sales leadership--a race
that will be determined Jan. 23 when GM reports results for 2007--and
Sunday's announcements show they also are competing head-to-head for
leadership in technology and image as makers of green vehicles.

To that end, Watanabe said Toyota, the leader in hybrid sales, will
introduce two new ones--a Toyota and a Lexus--at next year's Detroit
show and will offer a "clean" diesel engine, one that uses low-sulfur
fuel, on its full-size Sequoia and Tundra "soon." He did not elaborate
and was not available for questions after his speech at the show.

With new U.S. fuel-economy standards requiring an automaker's fleet to
average 35 m.p.g. by 2020--up from 27.5 m.p.g. for cars now and 22.4
for trucks--Watanabe said he has challenged Toyota's engineers to meet
that standard well before the deadline, again without giving details.
"We will not wait until the deadline to comply," he insisted.

As its own step toward those standards, GM announced a partnership
with Warrenville-based Coskata Inc. Sunday to develop ethanol from
wood, trash, tires, plastic and other materials. Coskata expects to be
producing the ethanol by 2011.

GM is ahead of Toyota in the production of vehicles that run on E85,
the blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, having built
more than 2 million of them. Toyota will offer its first E85
vehicles--V-8 powered trucks--in 2009.

Toyota has that dominance over GM in hybrids, having sold 1.25 million
worldwide while GM has just begun to produce them in volume.

rpopely.RemoveThis@tribune.com