Lithium Ion Batteries a No-Go for Toyota?

Toyota was the first to get a plug-in hybrid car on the road in Japan, and has the most popular hybrid car sold today. In fact, the Prius h...

Toyota was the first to get a plug-in hybrid car on the road in Japan, and has the most popular hybrid car sold today. In fact, the Prius has become synonymous with the word hybrid. So, when the executive vice president for R&D at Toyota says lithium-ion batteries are too dangerous (subscription required) right now to put in hybrid cars, I have a hard time dismissing those concerns.

At the same time, GM has been keeping up the pressure by announcing they will have the Volt out sooner rather than later. According to all reports, GMs lithium-ion batteries have a different chemical aspect, making them more stable.

Of course, Honda was first on the scene with a hybrid in the US. And look at what that's gotten them, a very distant second place to Toyota's dominance of the hybrid marketplace.

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