Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has established itself as the market leader in the production of green cars thanks to the success of the Toyota Prius – the world’s favourite hybrid car throughout the decade. However, now competition in the sector is rife and the company is being forced to think again to stay ahead of the pack.
Already a new plug-in version of the Prius is on its way – and now Toyota is said to be working on a project to bring solar power to mass production vehicles in an attempt to race ahead of the market once again.
A report in Japanese business paper The Nikkei courtesy of the Associated Press, states that Toyota has plans to incorporate solar panels in one of its cars along with a house-mounted solar charging system.
Toyota is determined to re-establish its technological dominance and form a firm foothold in the future of the automobile market which looks likely to be dominated by electric and other green cars. As we reported midway through last year, an independent company has already developed a solar conversion kit for the second generation Prius that enables the car to travel for up to 20miles on solar power alone.
Roof-mounted panels on a near-term Prius would be used to power systems such as the in-car stereo, air conditioning and other low power features. A Toyota vehicle that relies on solar power for vehicle propulsion is said to be several years away.
