Toyota Says No to Lithium in All Hybrids

Toyota says they may not use lithium-ion batteries in all their new hybrids, even when they do become available. The feeling is they will only need them in those hybrids that require the extra power.

Which makes some sense since lithium-ion batteries are going to be, at least in the near future, more expensive than the nickel metal hydride batteries that are in today's hybrid cars.

"Nickel-metal continues to be our main application," Yoshitaka Asakura, general manager of Toyota's hybrid system engineering division, said in an interview yesterday in Toyota City, Japan, where Toyota is based. "It's not the case that every vehicle will require lithium-ion. According to different vehicle needs, we'll use different types of batteries."

Source: Bloomberg.com: Japan