Toyota eyes alternative-fuel partners

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said that his company will look for more partners in alternative-fuel technology, after buying a minority stake in Tesla Motors Inc. last June. Toyota and Tesla are working on a prototype of an electric car and Toyota is investigating Tesla’s use of small, low-cost batteries, which differ from the Japanese auto maker’s larger-scale batteries, Toyoda said. Toyoda said the company is taking an “omni” approach to alternative fuel, and that it will try to develop alternative fuel vehicles that cover all possible avenues, such as hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as well as biodiesel or other biofuel-powered cars and trucks. (July 9, 2010)