Toyota and EDF Team To Develop Recharging Points For Plug-In HEVs

Toyota Motor Corp. and Electricite de France SA (EDF) announced plans to jointly develop recharging points for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). The companies intend to develop an electricity infrastructure to service the plug-in HEVs that Toyota is slated to unveil in the next few years.

Only a few large cities (such as London) currently provide recharging points. It is believed by many observers that the future commercial viability of plug-ins will largely depend on the expansion and wider availability of recharging points. The Toyota-EDF project will probably cover only France at first, but could expand to other countries due to EDF’s ownership of utility companies in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.