According to Japan's Nikkei news agency, Toyota has decided to start series production of a plug-in version of the Prius hybrid in 2012. At launch, the automaker plans to build about 20,000-30,000 units a year of the plug-in hybrid. The report indicates that the model will be priced comparably to the Mitsubishi i-MiEV at about $48,000. That's a pretty steep price and quite a bit higher than the $40,000 pricetag expected to be applied to the Chevrolet Volt when it arrives late next year, and it also puts the PHEV Prius at about twice the price of a conventional model.

The PHEV Prius will likely be the first product to use lithium ion batteries produced by Panasonic EV Energy Co. The battery is expected to provide about 12-18 miles of range, although it's not clear how much of that will be possible without running the engine. We'll probably have a better idea of that next year after the 500 or so prototypes go into test fleets starting late this year.



[Source: Reuters]

Toyota FT-EV concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's not terribly surprising that Toyota – the automaker often credited for creating the first modern mainstream hybrid automobile – would seek to continue establishing its marketplace dominance in hybrid automobiles. The Prius alone has sold well over a million units since its inception in 1997 and is undoubtedly the vehicle that defines the eco-friendly automobile market. With that in mind, don't expect the Japanese automaker to make any wholesale changes to its plans for world hybrid domination in favor of electric cars or diesels. Toyota spokesman Curt McAllister said:

One of the obstacles of the diesel is the aged perception that the diesel is smoky and stinky. It's hard to change the mind-set of consumers. Hybrid technology has such a clean halo to it.

In a separate interview, incoming President Akio Toyoda added:

Electric cars' battery life is limited, and that has not been solved. We would like to utilize our hybrid technology because we have accumulated quite a bit of knowledge about battery usage for hybrid cars. Depending on how electric cars are used or how they are found to be valuable, for the time being Toyota would like to focus on hybrid technology.

[Sources: AutoWeek, GM-Volt.com]

Diesel's near-term prospects in America took a huge hit with the revelation that nine diesel-powered 2010 models are on hold. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have put the kibosh on rolling out more oil burners due to cost and perception issues.

Toyota's obviously on a hybrid run and doesn't want to expelnd the effort or expense of investing in diesel for the American market - and having to overcome America's dirty diesel perceptions. The others, as mass market manufacturers, simply need more justification for the cost and complexity of oil burners in order to make the case for consumers to spend more.

Additionally, diesel's benefits are weighted differently according to EPA or CAFE standards. The EPA mileage numbers present diesels well, but CAFE's differing fuel mileage equation makes gas-hybrids look better than diesels, and CAFE is something all automakers are looking at. However, you'll notice that German brands aren't mentioned - their price premium and European diesel volumes make a worthwhile case for diesels, so those diesel Jetta Sportwagons won't be going away any time soon.


[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Rumors that General Motors may get access to Toyota's proprietary hybrid technology just won't go away. Today, Bloomberg cites two unnamed sources in reports that Toyota President Akio Toyoda and GM chief Fritz Henderson will meet this August in Michigan to discuss the possibility of a GM-badged version of the Toyota Prius hybrid hatchback.

For the record, both General Motors and Toyota have repeatedly denied that any such talks have taken place and have said it's unlikely that they ever will in the future. Many of these rumors indicate that the two automakers are considering building the Prius together at the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) joint venture in California, but GM has today announced that its involvement in NUMMI is over.

It remains a possibility that Toyota will fully take over the reigns at NUMMI to finally build the Prius in America, but even if that's the case, it's extremely unlikely that General Motors will have anything to do with the project in light of its own massive undertaking of readying the Chevy Volt for the market in 2011.


Photos copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Bloomberg]

While the argument about whether a Hummer H2 is actually more environmentally friendly than a Toyota Prius has long since been debunked (even if it keeps popping up its ugly head), it does raise a valid point. A major part of the environmental impact of transportation devices like cars and trucks comes during the manufacturing and disposal phases of their existences. Evaluating environmental impact requires total lifecycle analysis of the product, something that Toyota has done for the new 2010 Prius.

The Tsutsumi plant that builds the Prius is one of five ISO14001 certified Eco-factories in the Toyota network. The factory has a 50,000m² solar array on its roof that generates 5,000 2,000 kW per hour of electricity, about half of the plant's total requirements. Another 22,000m² of the factory is covered in a photocatalytic paint that converts NOx CO₂ to oxygen and nitrogen. A number of initiatives including zero land-fill waste, water recycling and reduced volatile organic compound use are all part of the overall effort to reduce the impact of building Priuses.


[Source: Toyota]

In 2007, Toyota drove one of its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles from Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia. Earlier that same year, a Toyota FCHV drove from Tokyo to Osaka on one tank of H₂. The company is certainly in favor of at least researching the technology, and has repeatedly said that it will start series production of a fuel cell vehicle in the middle of the next decade. At one point, Toyota hinted that 2014 might mark the big year, but that's looking unlikely now. During a recent shareholders' meeting in Japan, Toyota VP Masatami Takimoto said that Toyota now plans to start production of this new car in 2015. That's still quite soon, and no one expects the hydrogen infrastructure problem to be solved by then. Thanks to Greg B. for the tip!


[Source: AFP]

Toyota has worked hard to cultivate its image as the "green" automaker. And, with so many hybrids on the road, it can back its claim up. Still, some critics have cited the fact that mining for battery components is bad for the environment and the thousands of miles that massive, CO₂-spewing ships travel to park those hybrids on our shores more than negate the positive effects of of the hybrids. It's hard to argue with 50 mpg for $22,000, though, and, after all, politicians love them some hybrids.

Toyota's plans to build a new technical center and test track only 30 miles from its Aichi, Japan headquarters have its critics chirping anew, as the land pegged for construction is a 17th century rice patty. Toyota plans to use the facility to fine-tune its vehicles and stay ahead of Honda and GM in the hybrid game, but the cost may be a bit too steep.

To clear the 1,631 acres needed for the facility, Toyota plans to deforest 691 acres, fill the rice paddies and flatten mountains. Flatten mountains? Really? Good thing Toyota also owns Hino heavy trucks. Activists allege that the construction will destroy the habitat of the endangered gray-faced buzzard and oriental honey buzzard. That doesn't sound very eco-cool.

[Source: Bloomberg]
Photo by Steph & Adam. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Reports have been flying rampant over the last few days that General Motors and Toyota would be entering a joint agreement to share Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology through the two automaker's NUMMI joint venture. It appears the rumors began when Bloomberg ran a story quoting unnamed sources saying the Japanese automaker is considering producing the Prius at the plant it shares with GM in California.

Toyota denies that report as pure speculation, with Mike Goss, external affairs manager with Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, telling Green Car Advisor that it still plans to assemble the Prius at its unfinished plant in Mississippi at some point in the future.

General Motors also denies that it will license hybrid technology from Toyota. In a webchat session on GM's Fastlane Blog, Troy Clarke, President of GM North America, said of the rumors:

We are not in current discussions with Toyota on licensing their synergy drive. I would point out that we are working like crazy on our own hybrid technology. Also, we are really moving fast on the Volt of which you are well aware.

At this point, there seems to be no real evidence that General Motors and Toyota will share hybrid technology. Plus, as we've pointed out before, the whole rumor in general makes little sense.


[Source: Green Car Advisor]

There's no doubt that the Toyota Prius is the most well-known green car in the world, a fact that's as often attributed to the car's distinctive styling as it is to the car's impressive fuel efficiency. The latest 2010 model pushes that efficiency to a new level with a combined 50 mpg rating here in the States. Up next is likely a plug-in version of the Prius, almost certainly with a lithium ion battery.

Of course, there are ways to improve the fuel efficiency of the Toyota Prius besides adding a plug. According to Toyota R&D head Tasatami Takimoto, though, the options that the company is investigating doesn't currently include a diesel powerplant. He says:

We already make a diesel hybrid truck in Japan, but in order to mass-market diesel hybrids we need to make the exhaust emissions much cleaner, and that requires development. You have to combine this clean emissions technology with the hybrid system cost, so that means that, currently, it's a very high-cost powertrain for us. So for Toyota, it will take many more years.

[Source: Autocar]

Here's an ugly number. In order to meet the State of California's zero-emission vehicle requirements, Toyota might have to spend over a billion dollars. The $1 billion isn't a fine, but an estimate of what it will cost Toyota to make sure it has enough zero-emission vehicles to sell in the California market by the time the automaker's 2012 models go on sale (i.e., very soon).

The ugly number comes from "a person familiar with the matter" who spoke with Bloomberg. According to an industry analyst also quoted in the piece, the reason that Toyota could face this huge cost is that the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies and associated slow sales mean that Toyota now has a larger market share (24.1 percent) in the state. California law says that three percent of unit sales over a three-year period have to be non-polluting models. With Toyota in the sales lead (the next highest market share belongs to Honda, with 12.9 percent), it will fall on them to bring the cars to market. A California Air Resources Board air pollution specialist told the paper that the California sales targets for 2012 to 2014 include 7,500 zero-emission (hydrogen fuel cell or battery-electric) vehicles and more than 60,000 PHEVs from all automakers. That's a tough goal, but at least Toyota has the popular Prius to build from. Find more details here.


[Source: Bloomberg]