MUNICH, Germany — Volkswagen AG and Japanese electronics group Sanyo will jointly develop highly efficient lithium ion batteries for use in hybrid drive cars and, eventually, in all-electric cars.

In the development of energy-saving hybrid drives as well as all-electric cars, the energy storage hitherto is the main hurdle. In order to overcome that obstacle, automotive OEMs are feverishly working on implementing lithium ion batteries at sizes and power dimensions relevant for cars. Besides Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW already have announced to work on similar developments.

"Besides more efficient combustion engines, we also plan to focus more on electrically-driven cars," Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a press statement, calling the 'electrification' of the car the right way to secure mobility in tomorrow's environment.

The Sanyo collaboration is directed towards the development of hybrid drive systems, a company spokesperson said. However, it will be very likely that the company will also unlock synergies for the development of all-electric vehicles. He declined to comment on the size and other technical properties of the batteries to be developed. The first volume cars equipped with litium ion batteries jointly developed with Sanyo will be produced in 2010, he said.

At the Geneva Automotive Salon in March, Volkswagen had shown a hybrid car study based on the company's Golf TDI volume model. Volkswagen subsidiary Audi had presented a complete power train section in its A1 quattro light vehicle designed for a cruising range of more than 100 kilometers.