For a considerable number of years now, Toyota’s Prius has been the top hybrid vehicle in the auto industry and stays triumphant in popularity and revenues in spite of the many competitive automobiles purchasable. The trend in Europe, the US and a considerable number of Asian countries like China and Korea has been increasingly shifting to totally electric automobiles and this industry has witnessed a enormous flood of funds from both the private sector and governments. But Toyota appears to be stalling while other car makers are racing ahead with the debut of cars like the Chevrolet’s Volt and Nissan’s Leaf.

Toyota officially became the leading auto producer worldwide in early 2007, beating the US automobile giant General Motors, who had previously maintained the top spot from the early nineteen thirties. A car that once symbolized the taking over of Japanese cars in the US has fared exceptionally well in the contemporary US Consumer Assistance Recycle and Save Act of 2009 or as more generally renowned, Cash for Clunkers. The payoff was given to auto buyers who were happy to trade in qualified cars for new, more fuel effective, environmentally friendly automobiles. Toyota came out the leader with two of its models in the top three automobiles sold in this program, proving the customer’s confidence in Toyota as a green auto producer.

The Prius has always been the emblem of Toyota’s pledge to manufacturing fuel-economical and environmentally friendly automobiles. The name is suitably borrowed from the Latin word denoting ‘in front’ and when it was introduced all over the globe in 2001, the Prius speedily became a representation of the innovative generation of automobiles to come. Regular folks to Hollywood celebrities purchased the car as an articulation of their loyalty to the cause of a safer world. However, it took more than ten years after its development and original debut to earn profits from this pioneering project.

In the recent economic crisis, Toyota has had its average share of issues. In spite of ensuing deficit in the preceding couple of years, it has performed comparably better compared to other auto makers. However, in tumultuous days like these, Toyota appears to have adopted a prudent attitude to the new electric car technology and concentrate primarily on the top performing models, trying to squeeze as much as manageable out of the tested and well-know hybrid technology. Toyota has learned effectively from its several years of achievements in the auto business and even though skeptics appear to worry that Toyota will fall behind when the technology ultimately becomes commercially viable, I do not think Toyota has much to panic about.

The principal hindrance in the commercial accomplishment of electric automobiles is the enormous alteration in infrastructure vital to support these cars. Electric cars can at present run fifty to sixty kilometers with no recharging, hugely confining the travel distance. Additionally, there is no collective charging procedure in place, with several choices like plug in recharge and battery swap being worked upon. Experts gauge that it will take a minimum of ten to fifteen years before a satisfactory setup is accessible for a large amount of these automobiles to be efficiently used for daily utilization.

The tale of the turtle and the rabbit would be a relevant analogy in this situation. In spite of Toyota’s capability to introduce an electric car in a fairly small period of time, it has decided to take the prudent course and consolidate its top spot with current technologies. After all slow and steady did win the competition, and the race has far from started.