Today's cars will be regarded as "dinosaurs" by 2020, according to a leading Japanese motor company executive.
Cars will be running on hydrogen fuel cells and other substitutes for petrol and diesel within 15 years, Hiroyuki Watanabe, senior managing director of Toyota, told a recent symposium of European, Japanese and other Asian journalists in Nagoya, Japan.
Toyota already produces the world's best-selling hybrid car, the Prius, which is powered by a normal 1.5-litre engine and an electric motor, making it "greener" than any standard car on the market.
The Prius was named European Car of the Year 2005, having already scooped the accolade of North American Car of the Year 2004. Since it was launched in 1999, some 340,000 have been sold worldwide.
This represents a small fraction of Toyota's total sales of 7.5 million vehicles in 2004; of these far-from-green SUVs, such as its Land Cruiser, accounted for 12 per cent.
The awards for the Prius were seen by Toyota as an endorsement of its Hybrid Synergy Drive system, bringing forward the day when it would become a mainstream technology for cars.
Watanabe admitted there was a six-month waiting list for the Prius at present, but he said Toyota would like to achieve sales of 1 million for its hybrid vehicles, which now include two SUV models.
He emphasised the company's commitment to environmental sustainability, as evidenced by the fact that its own employees in Japan are encouraged to use public transport to get to work.
Traffic in the area of its Toyota City headquarters near Nagoya had been reduced by 30 per cent as a result of this initiative, Watanabe said. A large bicycle park has also been provided for employees.
Employees are also encouraged to make suggestions on how working conditions can be improved on the assembly line. Many of these have been adopted, leading to greater job statisfaction - and efficiency.
Toyota employs 65,000 people in Japan, out of a total of 260,000 in 26 countries. The company invests heavily in research and development to make its cars more energy-efficient and environmentally clean.
Apart from reducing emissions to "near zero", Toyota aims to produce cars which can be recycled when scrapped. According to Watanabe, the company is close to achieving a 90 per cent recycling rate.
It is currently developing intelligent "driver-assist" systems including radar cruise control and even automatic parking as well as an improbable-looking "personal mobility vehicle" with a capacity of one.
R+D on what became the Prius started as long ago as 1976. The "second generation" version of the car is quieter, and now has 60 per cent of the hybrid market in the US.
Toyota is examining all sorts of alternatives to the use of fossil fuels, in different permutations and combinations, but the most promising long-term prospect is probably hydrogen fuel cells.
According to Watanabe, it will take another 10 years before fuel cells become commercially viable for the car industry, but he believed they could be combined with developing hybrid technology.
As yet, no infrastructure exists to support fuel-cell cars. However, the Canadian government is planning a "hydrogen highway" for the 2010 Winter Olympics near Vancouver, while at the current World Expo show in Aichi, Japan, hydrogen buses operate within the grounds ferrying visitors between the various stands.
No decision has been made as to what to do with these buses when the show ends.
