Toyota announces 150 plug-in Prius hybrids are coming to Europe in 2009
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Toyota Prius
Toyota Motor Europe CEO Tadashi Arashima has announced that Europe will get 150 plug-in Priuses this year, followed by another 350 in 2010. These PHEV units will be used for testing purposes and will not be available for the masses. Even better news from ToMoCo: 2012 will see the introduction of an all-electric vehicle. Toyota could use the plug-in help to meet its self-set goal of average corporate CO2 emissions of 140 g/km, including Lexus offerings, this year and drop to between 120 and 130 g/km before the mandatory limit comes dues in 2015. Arashima also said that, since the price of diesel cars will climb significantly with the introduction of the Euro V and VI anti-pollution rules, diesel vehicles won't be as attractive to buyers who might also consider a hybrid vehicle. He did acknowledge that diesels will continue to be significant in European markets.
[Source: Automotive News (subs. req'd)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jharlan 10:39AM (3/04/2009)
Wow! 150 plug in Priuses in Europe. That is certainly better than Nuthin (just barely). VW must be scared to death (OH, that's right, VW TDIs are just as economical with out a battery pack!).
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paulwesterberg 11:06AM (3/04/2009)
Sounds like a beta test. TDI's are just an incrimental improvement and it will be very difficult to improve them much further. The prius is just a architectural stepping stone towards plugins which will be much more efficient. VW will change their tune just as soon as they can figure out how to make money at it.
harlanx6 11:25AM (3/04/2009)
It's all going to be incremental, Paul. My point was the next incremental step is to put a Prius type hybrid system with a TDI type modern diesel. Right now both of these vehicles are rock solid state of the art vehicles. Are they as good as they can get? I doubt it.
Chris M 4:10PM (3/04/2009)
Um, no, a VW TDI is almost as efficient as a standard Prius hybrid, but the plug-in Prius hybrid is much more efficient - if it is plugged in for charging every day. That's because batteries and electric motors are considerably more efficient than any IC engine (gas or diesel).
It's simple. The more electricity used, the less fossil fuels used. (yes, that includes fossil fuels used to generate electricity, as power plants can use efficiency boosting devices that are too big and heavy to use in vehicles)
harlanx6 4:29PM (3/04/2009)
Then get yourself an electric car, Chris.
, or a plug in Prius. You'll be a hero. I like diesels and the coming modern diesel hybrids
will give your self righteous plug in Prius a run for it's money. Any way we can use less fuel is beneficial, but iIf you are not using renewable non polluting energy to produce the electricity that powers your plug in prius, then you are still part of the problem, not part of the pollution.
John C. Briggs 12:20PM (3/04/2009)
Sebastian said,
"So much of the electrical grid is underutilized at night and we are wasting all this energy and if we could just charge our batteries at night well then that would be good for many reasons. ...
You could also use that energy to electrolyze water. and I just don't know why hydrogen community isn't pushing that more. Because, that, to me, makes a lot of sense. ... But any time that you are using power that is already generated right now and being able to store it, being able to use it later, basically getting free energy, ..."
I fear there is some serious confusion of the facts here.
Firstly, power plants are not wasting electricity at night. They reduce their output, or shutdown completely at night. When power is needed, they increase output or turn on. If we have to crank the power plants up at night to power cars (hydrogen or xEV) then more natural gas, coal, etc, will be used. This is NOT FREE ENERGY.
Secondly, the point of night charging is that the power lines and power plants are underutilized at night. They have more capacity that could be used if we want to. We don't need to add new power plants to accomplish nighttime charging. However, it will use much more energy. Again, this is NOT FREE ENERGY just free capacity to deliver the energy.
Thirdly, it takes 3 to 4 times more electricity to propel a hydrogen car then it does to propel and xEV. It is simply a non-starter.
Later
John C. Briggs
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John 1:59PM (3/04/2009)
oops i think you posted on the wrong topic mate :P i do agree with you 100% though lol
George 7:59PM (5/19/2009)
Why does it seem IMPOSSIBLE for any of the automakers to create a plug-in hybrid! The car doesn't need to get 40 or 50 or even 60 "electric only" miles before the gasoline or diesel engine kicks in.
Hell, at this point, I'd take 15 to 20 "electric only" miles before the combustion engine kicks in!!! DO THE OIL COMPANIES REALLY HAVE THIS MUCH CONTROL OVER THE AUTOMAKERS???
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