That’s right, the Japanese automaker is on a air freshening mission. In a bid to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases its vehicles pump into the atmosphere, the company is working on a plug-in hybrid car, and hopes to bring it to market by 2010.
Toyota announced its intentions today at a press conference touting its full slate of environmental initiatives. The company already has a line of hybrid cars that are powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity; they get better gas mileage than standard cars because the battery recharges through the vehicle’s motion.
The plug-in will take another step in efficiency. With a more smaller and more powerful lithium-ion battery, the engine could store more energy and go farther before requiring the gasoline-powered motor to kick in. The battery would be recharged by plugging the car into any standard power outlet.
