Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, diesel-powered cars, vehicles running on ethanol and fuel-cell cars — these are among the major environment-friendly vehicles under development to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a major cause of global warming.
While making fuel-cell vehicles commercially viable in the near future is believed almost impossible due to technical hurdles, hybrids have steadily expanded their presence since Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius, the world's first commercially mass-produced hybrid, was launched in 1997. Global sales of all of Toyota's hybrid vehicles exceeded 1 million earlier this month.
Other major Japanese automakers are also pursuing various environment-friendly technologies including hybrids, but their strategies differ depending on their budgets and market position.