Asians, Toyota Lead The Way With Alternate Vehicle Patents

Toyota Prius Taking On Current

According to the 2010 Innovation Report: Twelve Key Industries and Their States of Innovation by Thomson Reuters, automotive patent filings jumped significantly in 2010 compared to 2009, with patent filings in the alternative vehicle sector leading the way.

And while Asian automakers dominated patent filings in 2010, Toyota filed 3 times more patents than any other automaker.

In 2009 the auto industry as a whole was fourth in patent filings. This year only the Computer & Peripheals sector filed more patents, pushing the auto sector above both the telecommunications and semiconductor industries. Even more interesting, this increase in filings was driven by a big push into alternative vehicles, one of 12 automotive sectors, with 16 percent of all patent activity.

Alternative vehicle patent filings were led by the Japanese with Toyota, Nissan and Honda topping the list in that order. Toyota alone filed 2179 patents in the alternative vehicle segment while Nissan filed 639 patents.

Toyota might be down, but with its hordes of cash reserves coupled with its overly-forward looking technology vision, it won’t be there for long.

Source: Hybridcarblog