Toyota's vision for the future of motoring includes non-polluting engines that clean the air around them and accident-proof eco-cars.

Speaking to the Guardian, the Japanese carmaker's chief executive, Katsuaki Watanabe, said the company aims to make "the dream vehicle, which makes the air cleaner, never injures people, makes people healthier and can run on a single tank of fuel between London and Istanbul".

Toyota, which is set to become the world's biggest car manufacturer this year, also envisages a future where hydrogen produced by renewable power has replaced fossil fuels.

The company is investing four to five per cent of its massive £88 billion global turnover on the development of hybrid vehicles, with a spokesman predicting "a quantum leap" in the coming decade.

Toyota says it wants to invest in a range of clean technologies including diesel, biofuels, all-electric motors and fuel cells

Around 300,000 of the firm's hybrid Prius and Lexus RX models were sold last year and Toyota predicts sales of over one million by 2010.

Meanwhile the company has developed a hydrogen fuel cell car called the Fine-X that can travel for 300 miles at up to 125mph and fuel cell-powered heavy vehicles that are currently operating in some cities.


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