Toyota CEO confirms lithium batteries for next-gen Prius
Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the Hybrid-X Concept
Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe spoke to BusinessWeek recently and confirmed that the next-generation Prius will definitely have a lithium ion battery when it comes out later in 2008. Watanabe also said that Toyota was focusing on improving both the performance and efficiency of their third-generation hybrid system. The target is to cut both the size and the cost of the next-generation hybrid system by half.
Watanabe acknowledged that they had concerns with the durability and robustness of lithium ion batteries in automotive applications, due to the extreme conditions they must endure in automotive applications compared to consumer electronics. They are actively testing and developing the batteries to be able to work reliably in cars. In addition to the batteries, Toyota is also cutting the size of the motors and inverters in half compared to the current cars. If they can accomplish all of those goals they will be able to incorporate hybrid drive-trains in to more of their vehicles and widen their lead further. The only thing that wasn't mentioned was the plug-in possibility, so we'll have to wait longer to find out if that is included.
[Source: BusinessWeek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mobile_army_sugical_hospital 8:08PM (3/10/2007)
Sounds great. Looking forward to Honda's next iteration as well.
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manfilms 4:54PM (3/19/2007)
One Saturday, March 17th my wife & daughter purchased a new Toyota TC from Headquarters in Miami - 5895 NW 167th st. 33016 - they drove the car out of the lot at 6:30 PM - that evening we discovered that my daughter would not be able to meet her financial responsibilities re the car - consequently Sunday March 18th my wife & I drove the TC back to Headquarters to return the vehicle. We were told to return Monday 20th March to return the TC. When we arrived - 9:30 A.M. - we were told by one of the sales managers that they would not receive the car back, even though it was less than 18 hours since purchase. We asked to speak to the General Manager and was told he was in conference and would not be available for another two hours . We waited. When we did see him he told us they did not take back vehicles no matter what. We pleased with him explaining out financial situation. He was not moved. And told us to have our laqwyer contact his lawyer. Not wanting to bring lawyers into it, my wife suggested that Toyota buy back the TC. The GM said that was doable and quited us a figure on a used car way below our original purchase prince, not to mention our $3,000.00 down payment. I contact a colleague who works for a nation wide auto dealership and was told he's never heard of a situation like this and that his company usually takes back vehicles within 3 days if the customer changes his mind. We did not change our mind. We already own a Scion XB - the first sold in South Miami three and half years ago - our problem is financial - under the circumstances I would have thouight the biggest dealership in South Miami would have the decency to take back a bran new car with less than 100 miles on the clock. It now looks like we will have sell it back to Headquarters Toyota at a considerable loss. If there is anything you can do to assist us, please notify us or Headquarters Toyota. Yours Sincerely, Robert & Iris Paget - manfilms@the-beach.net
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LifeSux 6:51AM (5/02/2007)
This just doens't seem a fair place to air your greivance about this. Although it is unfortunate, the normal sequence of events most people follow when making a purchase as large as a car is
a) figure out your budget
b) negotiate a price
c) buy the car
d) pay for the car
For you to buy a car without thinking about whether you can afford it or not seems your irresponsibility, NOT the dealerships. Trying to cast them as the bad guy here isn't fair.
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Heloise Lee 1:39AM (12/15/2007)
To Whom It May Concern,
I have owned a Toyota vehicle since 1999. My first vehicle was a Camry. Until that time I had owned nothing but Honda's. In the years since i have owned 2 4-Runners. I love my Toyota vehicles but this week I am having my doubts. The clock and the light on the gear shift went out. When I took my vehicle to a Toyota dealership for repair I was told it would cost me $500 to do this!!! Apparently to change the light bulb and to change the clock involves a lot of manual labor. What's up with that??? The fact that I have no light on the gear shift is a safety issue as far as I am concerned. When I drive at night I depend on this. You talk about lithium batteries and all the improvements you have made in recent years yet something as simple as a clock and a light is a major fix. Can you please work on rectifying these simple fixes??
Sincerely,
Heloise Lee
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