Prius woes may muffle hybrid buzz

EMBRACED by Hollywood celebrities and beloved by environmentalists, the Prius has long been the envy of Toyota's rivals, but now its safety woes risk putting the brakes on the success of hybrid cars.

The crisis-hit auto giant is a pioneer in fuel-sipping hybrids, which run on a combination of petrol and electricity and are vital to the company's efforts to stay in pole position in fuel-efficient automobiles.

Toyota, whose edge in hybrid technology helped propel it past General Motors in 2008 to become the world's biggest automaker, has struggled to keep up with demand for the Prius in recent years. But a software glitch with the braking system of its newest model now threatens to tarnish the image of hybrid cars, just as Toyota reels from massive worldwide recalls due to separate accelerator pedal trouble.

The Prius problem "is certainly giving hybrids a bad name, especially in the United States", said Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan. "People who have never driven a Toyota hybrid and were considering buying one may stop and think, 'Wait a second'," he added.

Toyota said Friday that it was still considering whether to recall hundreds of thousands of Prius hybrids.

The Prius, which boasts a world-beating 38km per litre has been the most popular hybrid globally since the launch of the first version in 1997.

Yet while Toyota leads the industry in terms of brand loyalty, the brake flaw could deter buyers at a time when interest in less-polluting automobiles is growing because of worries about global warming, Endo said.

Toyota, which acknowledged Friday it faced "a moment of crisis", has said it redesigned the anti-lock braking system (ABS) for the Prius in January and will soon announce steps for those already on the road.

It said there was sometimes a slight delay switching from regenerative braking which captures the energy of a hybrid car's motion to recharge the battery to the hydraulic brake on icy or bumpy roads.

It is a strong blow to Toyota, which has bet heavily on hybrids, in contrast to some competitors, such as Nissan, that see them as merely a passing fad on the road to pure electric vehicles.

With drivers becoming more environmentally aware, "it should have been a golden opportunity for Toyota to expand further at a time when green technology is in the limelight," said Mizuno Credit Advisory auto analyst Tatsuya Mizuno.

"Toyota appears to be throwing away the chance all by itself," he said.AFP