"Toyota Motor Corp plans to offer royalty-free access to its hybrid-vehicle technology patents within this year. With Toyota holding almost 20,000 active patents in the field, accessibility to hybrid technology on motors, power converters, and batteries would be openly available. This apparent disclosure is possibly motivated by the protective need to encourage and broad base hybrid strategies in the industry rather than jump straight to pure electric vehicles. With the lowered development costs and potential scale, we can expect prices for light and heavy hybrids to be accessible. It is also possible that policymakers consider incentives as an interim measure towards the adoption of hybrid vehicles for meeting emission targets. No doubt, a move inspired by Elon Musk's earlier announcements, offering free access to Tesla's EV technology." – Vinay Piparsania