Toyota has always been on the cutting edge of producing environmentally-friendly and fuel efficient vehicles. It looks like the Toyota Hybrid will someday be surpassed in its efficiency with a Toyota vehicle that is fueled by the sun.

According to a Japanese newspaper late last week, Toyota is now in the process of designing an electric car that will draw a portion of its power via solar cells. The vehicle will be able to be recharged from electricity generated from home solar panels, as well. The hope is that, eventually, Toyota will be able to develop a vehicle that runs entirely on solar power.

Toyota, we know uses solar power at its production plant in Tsutsumi in Japan. In addition, Panasonic, which makes batteries for Toyota hybrids, is buying Sanyo, which is a leader in solar technology. This puts Toyota in a truly unique position to really utilize the latest in solar power technology.

While it will be several years before a solar-powered car is released, this news does bring hope to people concerned with the environment. It may be that, one day, cars will run entirely on the fuel provided to them by the rays of the sun.