Toyota makes solar powered vehicles

Toyota Motor Corp. Japan is quietly developing a completely solar powered car to boost its struggling business.

But it may take years before the new model can be marketed.

Toyota researches the production of cars using electricity from photovoltaic cells that can be loaded from solar panels placed on the roof. But in the not too distant future, Toyota hopes to develop a completely powered car from solar cells that can be loaded in the car.

By the end of 2008, Toyota had shaken the whole of Japan by announcing it would lose its first share in 71 years due to declining sales globally, especially in the US market. The yen strengthened against the dollar also hurt sales of Japanese automakers.

Still, Toyota is a leader in green technology, and its executives insist they will not cut back on investing in eco-friendly car research.

Toyota, maker of luxury Lexus and Camry sedans, has begun using solar panels at the Tsutsumi plant in central Japan to produce a portion of its electricity for production. the firm. Toyota says solar panels on the roof have a total area of 60 tennis courts producing enough electricity for 500 households, helping to reduce 740 tons of CO ₂ emissions per year.

Toyota will also indirectly acquire solar technology when its hybrid battery development partner is Panasonic Corp. acquiring rival Sanyo Electric Co., a leading solar company, in early 2009.