Could Toyota base new low-cost hybrid on Auris platform?
Click above for a high-res image gallery of the Toyota Auris
There's been lots of internet chatter over the last few weeks surrounding rumors in Japan that Toyota is hard at work developing a new low-cost hybrid model that would use Prius technology but be priced to match the new Honda Insight. It's no secret that the Insight's big claim to fame is its low asking price, and much of that attractive sticker can be attributed to Honda's decision to base most of the car on existing platforms and technologies.
Like the Civic Hybrid, the 2010 Honda Insight uses the automaker's proprietary Integrated Motor Assist technology, but instead of using the rest of the Civic platform, Honda cribbed a large portion of the Insight's chassis on the Fit. This allowed for a substantial cost savings, and Toyota may choose to do the same for its next hybrid passenger car by placing its Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain in a mass-market vehicle platform.
One attractive prospect might be to borrow the architecture used in the Toyota Auris, a hatchback that's sold in Europe and Asia that shares underpinnings with the American Corolla. We can't say that these rumors are true, but it does seem like one logical way to save a huge chunk of money on development costs.
Gallery: Toyota Auris Optimal Drive
[Source: Burlapp Cars via All About Prius]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
stas peterson 1:59AM (3/29/2009)
Honda was way behind in hybrid technology, so it stuffed it's obsolescent mild hybrid failure into a one size down, cheaper vehicle and offered it for sale at a reduced price.
This is apparently driving Toyota to copy-cat and offer a HEV in the sub-Corolla sized vehicles instead of the higher volume mass market Prius/Camry sized vehicles.
What is next? GM stuffs the BAS into the Aveo? The technology is equal to the IMA, is the same technology as the BAS, Neither do much for fuel economy, but use the high mileage of tiny vehicles to appear technologically advanced. Unfortunately Americans have not shrunk in size and these vehicles have appeal in much smaller numbers, to a smaller subset of the market. I fear that in practice this will lead to discouragement with all hybrids and these vehicles in actual use will not produce much improvement in fuel economy.
But I suppose that this was inevitable. Fuel economy is where you find it.
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BoneHeadOtto 1:40PM (3/24/2009)
"What is next? GM stuffs the BAS into the Aveo? "
I would like GM to stuff a 2-mode hybrid in a sub 4000lb car.
But im with you, i like small cars but small cars are already efficient. So why would i spend the extra money to get a little extra mileage. But with medium sized cars i think you can convince people to trade in their monster cars for something a little smaller and a whole lot more efficient, so long as it is not a whole lot more expensive as well.
Im thinking something like a hybrid mazda5, or a hybrid scion xB. Those match the cargo capacity of your average SUV and are cheap and light. Toyota could easily make a Scion xB hybrid for under $20k. That is something an SUV driver could actually use. I know i would buy it.
Austin 8:58PM (3/23/2009)
The major reason that the Honda Insight can undercut the Prius is not due to platform sharing, but the cost of the hybrid system. The IMA (the brand name might be trademarked, but the technology is hardly proprietary as you mention) is not nearly as sophisticated or efficient as that used by Ford and Toyota. It does cost a lot less to manufacture (my guess is around $1,500) which gives Honda an attractive price point. It's not capable of propelling the car with the electric motor only except in coast-down.
So we'll have to wait and see what Toyota does. Adopting an integrated starter-generator is not so difficult; you just need about 1 1/2" of package space between the engine and transmission. Maybe Toyota will go that direction. Or perhaps, as the author mentions, Toyota might stay with their Hybrid Synergy Drive on a smaller platform. But if they do this, it's going to be tough to hit the cost targets.
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AMcA 10:13PM (3/23/2009)
That makes zero sense, given that the Prius is approximately Corolla/Auris sized. They'd be building a cheaper but otherwise pretty much the same alternative to their successful Prius.
They'd make more money doing a de-contented Pruis at a lower price point, and taking advantage of the volume. It's all about volume in the mass-market car biz.
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Dave 1:37AM (3/24/2009)
The Prius has significantly more interior room than a Corolla or Auris.
Superfavor 1:42AM (3/24/2009)
Noted that the Honda Insight was built upon a Jazz's. So, ought not Toyota's "budget" hybrid be erected on the Yaris/Vios platform with the hybridized mechanics thrown in for good measure?
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BoneHeadOtto 9:39AM (3/24/2009)
WTF, When are auto manufacturers going to realize that the real cost savings with hybrids come when you can move to them from a low mpg car. If i wanted a car the size of a Yaris, i would buy a Yaris (just threw up in my mouth a little). A hybrid is far less attractive when you are comparing a car getting 35mpg to one getting 45mpg. But if you can give me a car that i can actually haul stuff in, and make it a hybrid, then i can trade in my SUV or Mini-van and see some real savings!!!
Give us a hybrid we can replace our mini-vans with. Make it mazda 5 size. Why not just give us a hybrid Toyota Mark X Zio with a 4cylinder. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/27/japan-toyota-reveals-mark-x-zio/
Or heck even a sienna hybrid
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1337 1:20PM (3/24/2009)
I see your point, but the ideal efficient commuter is certainly not a Mazda5 Hybrid. The best, most efficient commuter car would be something like the original Honda Insight.
In terms of size, cars like the Hyundai Accent and the Toyota Echo were its closest competitors. While the Insight did have a pretty small interior, it earned an EPA combined 53 MPG, and many Insight owners claim 65-70 MPG. Compare that to the Echo and Accent, neither of which have an EPA rating over 40 MPG.
I drive 1200 miles per week, all highway, and an Insight would offer huge, real savings over my current car, a Mazda Protege (I average 38 MPG in that). I know there are many like me who drive a lot and would like an affordable hybrid with a very low operating cost.
Personally, I'd like to see Toyota build a Hybrid Synergy Drive Yaris. Ideally, it would have two seats, but as a 4-seater, it would probably see higher sales. Optimize city MPG by making it light (less than 2200 lbs) and letting it run all-electric at low speeds. Optimize highway MPG by windtunnel optimizing it for a low coefficient of drag (.25 or less).
BoneHeadOtto 12:21PM (3/24/2009)
"The best, most efficient commuter car would be something like the original Honda Insight "
no the best most efficient commuter would be an electric scooter of some type. Or if it has to be enclosed like the insight, it should seat only one person. But that is too impractical.
For someone like you, yes it makes sense to get a car with the absolute best mileage. (btw i would suggest moving to reduce your 200+ mile commute) But for the 90% case out there where people are driving roughly 15k miles a year, moving from a 35-45 mpg car saves only $190 a year in gas at $2 a gallon. But moving from a car that gets 22 to one that gets 35 will save $500 a year in gas. Minivans are used primarily around town where the hybrid difference would be even larger. Please toyota take the tech from the large hybrids and put it in a medium mini-van
ev1 1:50PM (3/24/2009)
why don't they just get rid of the gas components? It'll be much cheaper for the life of the car. If they just mass produced an all electric prius that went 200 miles then it'll be much more efficient and cost less in the long run. And since they'll be producing 300000 per year it'll be cheap!
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JoeP 8:02PM (3/24/2009)
If we give GM a hard time for being shortsighted and thinking only about next quarter's bottom line, then we have to do the same about those of us here that talk only about short term cost difference between efficient cars and gas guzzlers.
Oil reserves are much less than the published numbers, and it will soon enough become rare and expensive.
When we run out, what will you tell our children about why you didn't use as little as possible when we could so that the supply would be around as long as possible?
The good news is that we have 15 years to make a good excuse of why we weren't more responsible.
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