Hybrid Cars Enter Fast Lane

Hybrid cars enter fast lane

What caught my eye was on the last page:

"Toyota, Ford and Honda, currently the three main makers of hybrids, are going to face new competition from DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Nissan and Saturn as well as India's Tata and Malaysia's Proton. That is almost certain to bring prices down. Toyota, in fact, says it expects to have its hybrid pricing nearly at parity with its conventional gas-powered cars within the next five years, regardless of what the competition does.

If there is a shakeout, John Novak, an auto industry analyst for Morningstar, expects Toyota to hold its ground - largely because the Japanese automaker has developed other alternative technologies, like fuel cells. Toyota, which Novak noted is financially strong with a rich balance sheet, "is spending so much on R & D they will have an advanced portfolio of technology that will enable them to be competitive regardless of what technology ends up being dominant.""