Fleet tests of plug-in Prius moved up to early 2009, no retail timetable yet
Toyota President, Katsuaki Watanabe this week announced that the start of fleet testing for plug-in capable Priuses had been moved up by a year. At this year's Detroit Auto Show, Watanabe announced that several hundred Priuses with the ability to be plugged in would be delivered to government and commercial fleets in 2010 for field testing. That schedule has been adjusted so that the PHEVs would now be introduced in early 2009 with several hundred on the road by the end of the year. Over on the Toyota Open Road Blog, communications VP Irv Miller makes it clear though that no timetable has been set for retail sales of these cars and that it won't happen until Toyota is well and truly confident that the lithium ion batteries are safe, reliable and affordable. He also calls out a Palo Alto, CA Toyota dealer for beginning to take deposits on the cars. While applauding the dealership's initiative he stresses that no one knows when a PHEV Prius will actually be available to the public, including Toyota's dealer network.
[Source: Toyota]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nicholas 10:35AM (8/30/2008)
BULLSHIT!!!! They've been "testing" plug-ins car for several years now...that's just pure bullshit. IT IS READY FOR THE MARKET!!!!
Jesus Christ....
/ Nicholas
www.youtube.com/nichen
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ryan 10:30AM (8/30/2008)
I actually saw one of these babies driving through rural Toyota, Japan. Flagged down the driver (kinda like they did in Wayne's World) and asked him a couple questions. Wasn't able to get much out of him, other than that it didn't use gas when the car was stopped. Duh, thanks for the insightful info buddy. I wanted to know what kind of mileage he got per fill up, including kwh used, but then the light turned green...
Anyways, while it helps the cars stick out, I sure do hope that they find another way to let people know that you are driving a plug-in w/o the wussy-looking flowers.
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Tim 10:33AM (8/30/2008)
Am I correct in that the "all electric" range is only about 10 miles and this car is "electric ONLY" as long as it does not exceed 40-mph AND does NOT use strong acceleration?
Does the Plug-In Prius NEED the ICE when accelerating, passing, or going over 40-mph?
These specs looks pathetic when compared with the Volt extended-range electric car. Then again, it's MUCH less expensive too.
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tankd0g 11:36AM (8/30/2008)
That's ok, they can just pull the same BS GM is and put out a press release that the average American doesn't commute more than 10 miles or exceed 40mph.
Toyota does have that one handicap that GM doesn't though, their car actually exists. So people could presumably verify their claims.
Chris M 1:18AM (8/31/2008)
The first Toyota "plug-in Prius" prototype doubled the size of the NiMH battery pack, added a charger and made a few other modifications. Yes, the EV range is only about 10 miles, as that is still a relatively small battery. Since the double sized battery has twice the power, they used more powerful electric motors and changed the gear ratio on the power split device, resulting in a top "EV only" speed of 60 mph, at faster speeds the IC engine must spin to prevent motor/generator 1 from over-revving and getting damaged. The non-plug Prius and plug-in conversions made by others still have the 40 mph maximun EV only speed.
But remember that this is just an early prototype, by the time the production Plug-in Prius is ready there will likely be some changes. Toyota might use lighter LiIon batteries, or an improve NiMH batery, they might even use more powerful electric motors and boost the EV only speed even higher. Of course, one of the advantages of hybrids is the ability to combine the power of the electric motors and gasoline engines at the same time, getting better performance than either one alone could.
Ethan 5:42PM (8/30/2008)
Disclaimer: Electricity is not produced from flowers, fowl, or dolphins and/or similarly shaped animals; or the good vibes emanating from said wildlife.
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ryan 8:46PM (8/30/2008)
The plug in Prius is a car made by a Japanese company. The car has been being tested in Japan. Most Japanese roads have speed limits of 25-30mph. The average Japanese person accelerates at about 1/4 of the speed of an American (Michigan used as point of reference). Many Japanese people have a round trip commute of 10 miles or less. Everything is comparatively closer together in Japan, so a day's errands could easily be achieved on a 10 mile electric charge.
So, if all you know is America, then yeah, the plug in Prius would look kinda impractical. However, if you are living in Japan, then it looks amazing. Proven car from a proven company, and they are actually taking their time with it to make sure that it is great. Can you remember the last total flop that Toyota had? Don't say the Echo, as that was killed due in large to consumer perception and preference.
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ryan 10:45PM (8/30/2008)
The plug in Prius is a car made by a Japanese company. The car has been being tested in Japan. Most Japanese roads have speed limits of 25-30mph. The average Japanese person accelerates at about 1/4 of the speed of an American (Michigan used as point of reference). Many Japanese people have a round trip commute of 10 miles or less. Everything is comparatively closer together in Japan, so a day's errands could easily be achieved on a 10 mile electric charge.
So, if all you know is America, then yeah, the plug in Prius would look kinda impractical. However, if you are living in Japan, then it looks amazing. Proven car from a proven company, and they are actually taking their time with it to make sure that it is great. Can you remember the last total flop that Toyota had? Don't say the Echo, as that was killed due in large to consumer perception and preference.
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Scott 3:32PM (9/02/2008)
Lithium-ion batteries don't just magically find enough performance at a low enough cost for a full size automobile just because they've been researching it for years. Look at hydrogen cars. By the same logic, shouldn't that technology be way past due for production cars?
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