Toyota FT-CH Debuts at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show

DETROIT — Toyota said it is developing a "Prius family" of hybrids for North America and plans to introduce eight all-new hybrid models over "the next few years," including a production version of the compact FT-CH concept that is debuting this week at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

Toyota also is planning to launch a pure battery-electric vehicle, which it describes as a "small, urban commuter" powered by lithium-ion batteries, in model year 2012, and expects to offer hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles by 2015.

The new HEVs — including a plug-in version of the current Prius — EVs and FCVs are part of a broader green strategy at Toyota, which says it expects to be selling a million hybrids a year, most of them in North America, by 2012-'13. Included in that count are eight new products, either all-new dedicated hybrids or all-new hybrid versions of existing as-engine models.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said: "Within the next 10 to 20 years, we will not only reach peak oil, we will enter a period where demand for all liquid fuels will exceed supply. A century after the invention of the automobile, we must re-invent it with powertrains that significantly reduce or eliminate the use of conventional petroleum fuels. One of many alternatives is through what is commonly called the electrification of the automobile. By far, the single most successful example of this has been the gas-electric hybrid."

Toyota's success with hybrids, particularly with several iterations of the Prius, has led it to begin formulating a a marketing strategy for a whole family of Prius-badged vehicles, including a version of the FT-CH, according to Lentz.

"The strategy is still taking shape and obviously it will require additional models to qualify as a family," said Lentz. "Among others, the FT-CH is a concept that we are considering."

Styled at Toyota's ED2 design center in Nice, France, the FT-CH (CH stands for "compact hybrid") is nearly 2 feet shorter and considerably lighter and more fuel efficient than the current Prius, but only an inch narrower. Toyota says the car is "nimble, responsive and maneuverable," as well as "fun and innovative, colorful and stylish, with strong appeal to young buyers."

The FT-CH, according to Toyota, "targets a lower price point than Prius, thus appealing to a younger, less affluent buyer."

Inside Line says: Toyota appears to be covering all the battery bases with its fleet of test vehicles and future production models powered by various green propulsion systems. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent