Toyota downplays value of plug-in cars

Plug-in electric cars aren't likely all they’ve being made out to be by a public eager for alternatives to the traditional gasoline engine, said a Toyota Motor Co. engineer.

A number of serious hurdles stand between current technology and the reality of getting plug-ins on the road, Justin Ward, an engineer with Toyota's Advanced Technology Vehicles. Even if the vehicles do make it to market, he said, data shows a battery-powered plug-in may be no more efficient in reducing carbon dioxide emissions than the gas-electric hybrids on the road today.

Ward's comments come amid reports that Toyota is delaying its next-generation electric car because of safety concerns, which Toyota hasn’t confirmed.

GM and Toyota are racing to be first to market with a vehicle that would use a powerful lithium-ion battery. Both companies are focusing on a number of different options, which include plug-in cars that can recharge batteries via a wall outlet and hybrids that mate battery power and gasoline engine.

Lets hope they strive to make a product that is well built and that will last rather then racing to see who develops one first!