In a wide-ranging statement on its future, Toyota has announced

that it will bring a plug-in extended range Prius to market by the end of this year, will introduce as many as ten completely new hybrids by the early 2010s, and will bring a fully electric car to market in 2012.

Irv Miller, Toyota’s Vice President of Environmental and Public Affairs, had this to say about the announcement:

“Last summer’s four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly. It was a brief glimpse of our future. We must address the inevitability of peak oil by developing vehicles powered by alternatives to liquid-oil fuel, as well as new concepts, like the iQ, that are lighter in weight and smaller in size. This kind of vehicle, electrified or not, is where our industry must focus its creativity.”

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