Hybrid for Germany

Toyota has become the world's number one in hybrid motors since it brought its first model on the market in 1997. Today the Japanese company is far ahead of its German rivals BMW, VW and others in this fuel-efficient technology.

German carmakers have yet to produce a hybrid and have been criticized for failing to meet voluntary carbon emission targets. The German driving public has traditionally favored German cars, but Toyota's market share is growing.

The world's second biggest carmaker after General Motors, Toyota has been on a roll in Germany for the past seven years. Following a sales increase of nearly 10 percent in 2006 to 148,000 vehicles, the company is targeting a figure of 200,000 in 2010.

Green and competitive

"Climate protection and hybrid technology, which is not so well known in Germany, will be our main goals in the future," said Keiji Sudo, who has been in charge of Toyota Deutschland for two months.

Hybrid engines, which combine electric and gas-driven motors, will become more efficient and have a greater variety so they can be used in "a wide range of models," Sudo said.

German carmakers, however, have not decided to leave their home market to foreign competition. BMW and DaimlerChrysler have formed an alliance to develop a hybrid engine and VW said it will bring out a hybrid model by the end of 2008.

DaimlerChrysler head Dieter Zetsche said on Tuesday that it would be possible to mount a hybrid motor in all new Mercedes models.

"We will certainly not develop new automobiles that do not permit a hybrid option," he told auto motor und sport magazine.

Despite increased competition, Sudo said he expects Toyota to stay ahead of the Germans.

"In the future, we'll face stiff competition, but at the moment we have the advantage of being in a pioneering role," he said.

New models arriving

Toyota last year produced 320,000 hybrid cars. In Europe, they are available in the Toyota Prius and the luxury model Lexus. This summer the hybrid Lexus LS 600h will debut in Germany.

Toyota is determined to continue taking advantage of its environmentally friendly image despite skepticism from many of its German rivals.

"The hybrid model Prius is taking on the role as an ambassador for an environmentally friendly car," Sudo said.

Not lining up with environmental activists

Surprisingly, he was not happy have Toyota's hybrids receive an environmentally friendly recommendation from Greens party leader Renate Künast. She recently urged Germans to buy a Toyota hybrid as a contribution to protecting the climate to the company's chagrin.

"We are reluctant to be drawn into the political arena in this manner," Sudo said.

Sudo said the recent decision by the European Union to slash carbon dioxide emissions for new cars to an average 120 grams per kilometer by 2012 would be a "major challenge" for his company, but added that he didn't think much of other climate protection measures mentioned in Germany, such as car-free weekends or a general speed limit on highways,

"It might be a sign that people are becoming more environmentally conscious, but it is not a solution," Sudo said.