Eco-cars gear up

Toyota’s latest pride and joy is a member of the environment-friendly club. It is a a new-generation iQ model, a petrol/electric hybrid which according to Toyota means that range is not a problem. (Most electric cars can only go about 100 miles before they run out of power.)

Toyota is also working on an electric 4×4 with U.S. manufacturer Tesla. A concept car presented at the Los Angeles Auto Show should be on sale in the U.S. by 2012. But Nissan and Mitsubishi are also racing to produce hybrid cars.

Sadly, although consumer demand is there, analysts say electric vehicles won’t be able to dominate the car market for years to come because of their short range and the lack of charging and hydrogen-refuelling stations.

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