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]

We already knew the 2010 Toyota Prius would put up some impressive fuel economy numbers but the official Japanese numbers are just insane. On the standard 10-15 test cycle, the new Prius is rated at 89.4 mpg (U.S.) with CO₂ emissions of just 61 g/km! While the new Prius is certainly efficient, these numbers certainly seem highly unrealistic. It's likely that Toyota has calibrated the Japan market model to specifically get the maximum out of this low speed urban drive cycle (average speed 16 mph) and most drivers are unlikely to come anywhere near those numbers. Dedicated hypermilers, of course, can top 90 mpg, but that takes way too much effort. On the newer JC08 test cycle, the numbers drop a bit to a mere 76.7 mpg (U.S.). Here in the U.S. the Prius is rated at 50 mpg combined.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Brad Wood / Weblogs, Inc.

There are reasons that the Toyota Prius is the best-selling hybird car in the world. It's simple to use, gets better mileage than pretty much anything easily available, and you can turn it into a shuttlecraft if you want to. But, all that ease-of-use hides a lot of serious technical work. During a media event in Napa, California last week, Toyota gave us the details of just what and how the third-generation Prius came about after four-and-a-half years of work and literally thousands of meetings. In fact, Prius chief engineer Akihiko Otsuka joked that TMC doesn't stand for Toyota Motor Company but Toyota Meeting Company. An old chestnut of a joke, perhaps, but totally true in this situation.

Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division, told us that the official mileage rating for the 2010 Prius is 50 mpg city, 49 mpg highway. We already knew about the 50 mpg combined number from the Detroit unveiling, but those almost identical city/highway numbers are new. The difference between the city and highway ratings was something that current Prius owners wanted to see improved in this new model Carter said. There was a three-mpg difference in the second generation models; seven in the first. [UPDATE: Toyota has issued a slight correction]

Production of the new Prius will begin in late-April and the first vehicles will arrive in late spring. Toyota is predicting that around 100,000 3rd-gen units will be sold in 2009; 180,000 in the full calendar year after that. That's their forecast, but they will adjust building rate to the demand. A necessary decision considering the current economy. Toyota is confident there is demand for the new Prius, and believes the Prius could have a seven percent share of the midsize vehicle segment. One important factor will be pricing (and Insight competition), which Toyota will announce much closer to launch. The new Prius won't go on sale for another few months, but if you're curious about what you'll get when it becomes available, come with us after the jump.

India's not getting Toyota's super-popular hybrid hatchback after all. Apparently, because the car is assembled outside of India's borders, it's subject to a huge 114 percent import duty tax, which makes it pretty difficult to offer the hybrid at an attractive price. Apparently, Honda managed to do just that, though, and that has made Toyota's decision to pull the Prius just that much easier. When the Honda Civic Hybrid was priced up near $40K, the Japanese automaker sold only 60 units. Indians that actually wanted to buy a hybrid couldn't afford one. To help move the metal, Honda "temporarily" slashed the price of the Civic Hybrid, lowering the price of entry all the way to just $26K. That's a major move and it surely means that the cars are being sold at a significant loss. Therefore, don't expect Toyota to bring in Chinese or Japanese-assembled Prius hybrids any time soon.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]

Motor Trend has a drawing of what they think a Toyota Prius coupe might look like if one were built. Actually MT seems pretty convinced that this two door version of the hybrid icon will come to fruition as part of a whole line of Prius-badged vehicles. The rationale would be offer something to compete more directly with the production version of Honda's CR-Z hybrid coupe. The Prius coupe would presumably be lighter and therefore offer better performance than the five door hatchback. To make it worthwhile, though, Toyota would have to give up the very low rolling resistance tires in favor of something with a little more grip than is currently available.

It's possible that a production version of the A-BAT pickup that appeared at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show could get Prius badging. Or perhaps none of this will happen if Toyota decides it doesn't really need a fourth brand alongside Scion and Lexus. Perhaps the debut of the 2010 Prius in Detroit will answer some of these questions. Or not.

[Source: Motor Trend]

In a little over 61 days, Toyota will unleash the third-generation of its world-beating hybrid, the Prius. We've already grown a bit tired of being teased with shots of Prius bits that are seemingly only interesting to the few super-duper die-hard fans of Toyota's hybrid hatch, but the appearance of a new mini-site with the always-fun countdown clock for the car is kinda cool. We also dig the imagery of the now-iconic slippery shape of the car as it shows off its wind tunnel supremacy. For the record, we're pretty sure that Toyota isn't planning on releasing a new wheel-less hovering version of its hybrid, regardless of what the micro-site seems to indicate.

Until the new Prius gets its official debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show, we're pretty confident that Toyota will continue releasing its teasers. Sorry. Keep your eyes on the automaker's site in the meantime, watching as the countdown clock slowly ticks away towards Sunday, January 11th.


[Source: Toyota]

Toyota's Prius has been around since 1997 and we've seen its current iteration since 2004. So, four years later, it's sure to have been passed by when it comes to green automotive technology. Right? Maybe not, as the world's most popular hybrid has just won the Greenest Technology of the Year Award of the British Technology Awards. In truth, Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology still makes the Prius the most fuel efficient vehicle in the United States and a true alternative to diesels in Europe, but it definitely is challenged by the sophisticated 2-Mode hybrid system developed by GM, Chrysler and BMW. In the public's eyes, though, nothing quite touches the Prius when one thinks of green automotive technology. The British Technology Awards are voted on by readers of Computeractive and Personal Computer World as well as online at the Award's home site. Other award-winners include the Apple iPhone, BBC iPlayer and the Nintendo Wii.

[Source: AutoMotoPortal]

Automotive engineers who are currently working on hybrid drivetrains have a bit of a conundrum on their hands. Should they make the most of the battery pack's available power to eke the highest mileage possible or should they configure the electronics to offer the best performance? Generally speaking, the right answer falls somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, but that doesn't make the job any easier. Where is the perfect compromise between sportiness and efficiency? If sales are any indication, hybrids should lean more on their fuel mileage capabilities than on their sportiness, as the Prius clearly does in its second-generation model that's currently for sale.

Toyota's third-gen Prius, though, will somehow manage to be both more efficient and sportier. Toyota has had a few years now to tweak its Hybrid Synergy Drive and has created both performance hybrids and super-efficient hybrids from the technology. According to Toyota managing director Miguel Fonseca, the next Prius will emit less than 100 g/km of CO₂ while offering sportier performance. The automaker could have gone even lower, and rumors indicate that a second, even lower carbon emitting model will in fact be available in Europe.


[Source: AutoMotoPortal]