Faced with the possibility of having 200$ a barrel oil, governments and citizens are finally taking hybrids seriously. Even with their higher costs, the ever increasing prices of oil mean that the savings will be able to pay for the cost of the car in a shorter time frame. However car makers are ill prepared to meet this increasing demand.

Thankfully, some like Toyota are getting ready from now. Toyota is building a 20 billion yen (US$192 million) plant in Japan to produce batteries for gas-electric hybrid vehicles, as it seeks to keep its lead in an intensifying race for green cars among the world's automakers.

The plant will produce Nickel metal hybrid batteries such as the one used in the Prius.

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