Toyota to Double Hybrid Output in 2006?
If any rival automaker was about to challenge Toyota's dominance in the gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle (HEV) market, now is probably not the time. Toyota Motor Corp. plans to double worldwide HEV production to 500,000 units in 2006, from its current level of 250,000 units, reported Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Tuesday. Toyota claims that the North American market is fueling demand for its economical hybrids, and in order to meet the demand production needs to be ramped up substantially.
