Toyota unveils plug-in hybrid, to test on roads

Toyota unveils plug-in hybrid, to test on roads

Reuters | July 25, 2007

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled a "plug-in" hybrid car based on its popular Prius model today, saying it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads -- a first for the industry.

But the world's biggest automaker said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, was not fit for commercialization since it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries believed to be a better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars.

Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, plug-in cars are designed to enable short trips powered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can be charged through an electric socket at home.

Many environmental advocates see them as the best available technology to reduce gasoline consumption and global-warming greenhouse gas emissions, but engineers say battery technology is still insufficient to store enough energy for long-distance travel.

"It's difficult to say when plug-in hybrids could be commercialized, since it would depend largely on advances in battery technology," said Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto, in charge of Toyota's powertrain technology, told a news conference.

The Toyota Plug-in HV, which is due to be tested also in the United States and Europe, has a cruising range of just 13 km (8 miles) on one charge, even with its trunkful of batteries.

Detroit's General Motors and Ford Motor Co. are also working on plug-in hybrids, with cooperation from battery makers such as Germany's Continental AG.

GM in January showed a concept version of the plug-in Chevrolet Volt that would be powered by a lithium-ion battery. It has set 2010 as a target for production.

Ford this month partnered with No. 2 U.S. electric utility Southern California Edison for real-world testing of a fleet of up to 20 rechargeable vehicles to be based on the Escape Hybrid SUV. Ford has said plug-ins could enter showrooms in five to 10 years.

Toyota, which launched the world's first mass-volume gasoline-electric hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997, said it would test eight prototypes of the plug-in hybrid to gather data on real-life driving over the next three years after gaining government approval on Wednesday.

Many automakers including Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., are working with Japanese battery makers to develop next-generation lithium-ion batteries with improved capacity to store energy.

Reply to
C. E. White
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All we need do now is to convince the environuts of the need for far more of those cleaner safer nuclear power plants and a mega billion dollar increase in the power grid, to make all the extra electricity and distribute it, to feed those cars.

Like most of those that point to alternate power sources for transportation, the environuts do not understand there is nothing on the horizon that singularly, or in combination, that can even come close to replacing the nearly 390 million gallons of gasoline that is consumed every day, in the US alone. Even if they could there is no distribution system in place for them and the NIMBY folks and the same environuts will not let the distribution system be built.

At best all the alternatives in combination can do is help fill the gap in the ever-growing world wide demand for more energy.

The real solution to the world energy needs, for the next seventy five years, is nuclear power and drilling in more of the know oil reserves. That is the opposite of what those that know all the answers to all of the worlds problem want us to do. LOL

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Does anyone take into account that the electricity for charging these "non-polluting" cars comes from nuclear or coal/oil-fired generating plants which leave behind nuclear wastes and belch plenty of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter into the atmosphere? this is never mentioned.

Dave

Reply to
David Moorman

Yeah, I have noticed that people tend to forget about these factors too.

However, I do believe that if the cars are fueled in the middle of night, when the power needs are lowest and only the most fuel efficient (i.e., cheapest) power plants are running, the cars will use less fossil fuel and generate less CO2, overall. (Obviously, this is true if the electricity comes from nuclear power, but all the electricity coming from nuclear power might already be used, even in the middle of the night.)

Reply to
Jeff

But the point is that for many of us, most of our miles driven are driven in short trips, which, totalled for a day, might add up to 40 or

50 miles. In cases like this, the battery is sufficient to store enough energy so that the gas motor never needs to run. But, on longer trips, the gas motor kicks in. So, presumably more efficient electricity with more efficient power generators provide most of the energy.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Lets put it this way.. assuming, all cars right now became plug in hybrids or electric vehicles, The amount of green house gasses will reduced by lets say 50% (its just a number and no data whatsoever) and if more power is needed power plants that will be put up will be from renewable energy, wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric and if there is further need to use coal or diesel plants the green house gas will only be 10% increase (also just a number out of my head)

Reply to
EdV

Make the vehicle upgradeable for when the newer battery technology comes along and other improvements to firmware and components. Our trips mostly are short under 25 miles, this would be an ideal vehicle for us. I'd strongly consider buying one.

Reply to
Spirit&Opportunity

Why is it again that Li-Ion are not used in hybrids?

Reply to
EdV

Too expensive.

Why don't they use solar panels for charging the battery. Make it part of the roof and trunk, hood. Free electricity.

Reply to
dbu

You can only get a few kilowatts if the entire hood, roof and trunk is covered in solar panels.

However, if you fed this into the power grid and recharged the batteries at night, it would be a net positive, because there is less demand at night, so you would effectively be using the more efficient power at night to charge the batteries. And, this would increase the solar power used overall, because this would work, even when one is away, say on vacation, assuming, of course, the car is left in the sun.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Solar power is an exciting area.

Reply to
dbu

It still runs into the problem that the battery will either need to be larger to keep it within the "sweet spot" of 40-75% for optimal battery life, and/or will need to be charged higher and discharged lower than the current hybrid-car battery model. Either carry around extra weight or live with more frequent (and expensive) battery replacements.

Reply to
y_p_w

Other articles:

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July 25, 2007 Japan Certifies Toyota Plug-in Hybrid for Public-road Tests

Tokyo - TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today that it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle and become the first manufacturer to have such a vehicle certified for use on public roads in Japan.

The TOYOTA Plug-in HV - certified for public road-use by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport - uses, like earlier TMC-developed hybrid vehicles, both a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine and an electric motor. But increased battery capacity gives it a longer electric-motor-only cruising range and a battery-charging device allows users to replenish the batteries using household electricity. These features enable the vehicle to run more often in gasoline-free, electric-only mode, such as on short trips in city driving. The resulting fuel efficiency improvements mean lower CO2 emissions and less fossil fuel consumption and, therefore, less pollution. Also, charging the battery with less-expensive nighttime electricity lowers total running costs, providing an economic benefit to owners.

Although challenges still exist in the development of pure electric vehicles such as a limited cruising range and issues related to cost, TMC still views plug-in hybrid vehicles as a promising technology for allowing electricity to serve as a viable power source for automobiles and is committed to their continued development as a key environmental technology.

TMC plans to conduct public-road tests in Japan with eight units of the TOYOTA Plug-in HV to verify electric-motor-only cruising ranges and optimal battery capacity. While doing so, it plans to provide the government with data for formulating testing methods for emissions and fuel efficiency and to consider TMC's measures for promoting plug-in hybrids and the use of electricity. There are also plans to conduct public-road tests of the TOYOTA Plug-in HV in the United States and in Europe.

Videos of driving scene:

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Main Specifications of Toyota Plug-in HV VEHICLE Name TOYOTA Plug-in HV Length / Width / Height 4,445 / 1,725 / 1,490mm Weight 1,360kg Seating capacity 5 persons PERFORMANCE IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE MODE Cruising range 13km in the 10-15 Japanese test cycle Maximum vehicle speed 100km/h ENGINE Displacement 1,496cc Maximum output 56kW(76PS) / 5,000rpm Maximum torque 110N-m (11.2kg-m) / 4,000rpm MOTOR Type AC synchronous motor Maximum output 50kW(68PS) / 1,200 - 1,540rpm Maximum torque 400N-m(40.8kg-m) / 0 - 1,200rpm Secondary battery Type Nickel-metal hydride Capacity 13Ah (6.5Ah x 2) Rated voltage 202V OVERALL SYSTEM Maximum output* 100kW (136PS) Voltage 202 - 500V BATTERY CHARGING Power source Household electrical power Charging time 1 - 1.5hrs (200V), 3 - 4hrs (100V)

*Based on TMC calculations; output that the system can achieve using engine power and electric motor power (electric motor power is dependent on battery power)

and:

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Toyota Advances Plug-In Hybrid Development With Partnership Program Involving UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, California Energy Commission And Air Resources Board

07/25/2007 July 25, 2007 - Torrance, CA - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., (TMS) today announced that it will provide Toyota plug-in (PHEV) hybrid prototypes to the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), as part of its on-going sustainable mobility development program with the two UC campuses. Also, today, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced that the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has certified prototype plug-in hybrid vehicles for use of similar testing on Japan public roads.

Toyota has a long history of working collaboratively with both universities on the development of advanced technology and alternative- fuel vehicles, including demonstration and research programs involving fuel cell vehicles, gas-electric hybrids and pure electric vehicles. This next phase of its sustainable mobility partnership involving plug- in hybrid vehicles will be conducted in conjunction with the Alternative Fuel Incentive Program jointly developed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC). The goal of this program, which was authorized under California Assembly Bill 1811, is to incentivize the use and production of alternative fuels and vehicles.

"Our goal with this program is to evaluate various advanced vehicle technologies, as well as key factors such as infrastructure, intelligent transportation systems, and urban design," says Dave Illingworth, senior vice president and chief planning officer for TMS. "The Toyota Prius convinced mainstream consumers on the merits of hybrids. Although there is much work to be done with plug-ins, we see this pilot program as a significant step in the advancement of the technology."

A conventional gas-electric full hybrid system, such as that found in the Toyota Prius, is powered by both an electric motor and a gas engine. The system operates in pure-electric mode, pure-gas mode, or a combined gas-electric mode. The electric motor is powered by a dedicated battery pack that is kept charged by electricity generated by the gas engine and the vehicle's re-generative braking system. The fact that the hybrid battery never needs to be plugged-in to a recharging station has been one of the primary selling points with mainstream consumers.

Based on the current-generation Prius, the PHEV prototypes will be powered by oversized packs of nickel-metal hydride batteries that effectively simulate the level of performance Toyota expects to achieve when it eventually develops its own more advanced, compact and powerful battery systems.

The prototype PHEV system is designed to operate in a similar manner to the current Prius, switching from pure-electric mode, to gas-engine mode to a combined gas-electric mode. The big advantage is that the PHEV's prototype battery pack is capable of storing significantly higher levels of electricity, supplied by "plugging into the grid" for periodic recharging sessions. With significantly more electric power in reserve, the vehicle will be capable of operating in pure-electric mode for longer periods of time and at much higher speeds than the current Prius. This will result in substantial gains in fuel economy and a major reduction in total tailpipe emissions of smog-forming gases, over current conventional hybrid systems.

Given its commercial success, it's no surprise that the further advancement of hybrid technology is a top priority for Toyota. As of the end of May 2007, cumulative sales of Toyota hybrid vehicles worldwide topped the one million mark, a global sales number the company hopes to hit annually in the early 2010s.

The U.S. market accounts for more than half of Toyota's first million hybrid sales-604,693 vehicles from the first Prius sold in 2000 through June 2007. And despite decreasing tax credits, demand continues to climb.

An analysis by The Detroit News showed Toyota accounted for 80 percent of the U.S. hybrid market in May, a month that saw TMS' hybrid sales jump more than 100 percent over the previous May. The company's hybrid sales for the first six months of 2007 are up 69 percent over the same period last year.

"The cost-benefit of hybrids is becoming more apparent with climbing gas prices," says Jim Lentz, TMS executive vice president. "We anticipate combined sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrids in the United States to reach a quarter million units this year."

The price of gas isn't the only reason people purchase hybrids; many are concerned about reducing dependence on foreign oil and tailpipe emissions. A recent study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory says hybrids have saved close to 215 million gallons of fuel in the United States since their introduction in 1999.

Additionally, Toyota estimates that over the past decade, hybrids worldwide have emitted approximately 3.5 million fewer tons of CO2 than gas-powered vehicles of the same class.

Reply to
mrv

I hope more buyers chose hybrids. They will help save gas for those of us that want to drive the larger safer RWD V8 vehicles we like to buy LOL

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

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