Toyota Ready to Test Plug-in Hybrid
Toyota said that it plans to test eight Plug-in HVs in Japan “to verify electric-motor-only cruising ranges and optimal battery capacity.” Toyota added that it also plans to conduct public-road tests in the United States and Europe.
According to Toyota, the five-passenger Plug-in HV is similar to previous Toyota hybrid vehicles in that it uses both a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine and an electric motor. However, Toyota said that the Plug-in HV has increased battery capacity and a battery-charging device that allows users to recharge the nickel-metal hydride battery 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,” Toyota said in a news release. “The resulting fuel efficiency improvements mean lower [carbon dioxide] 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.”
According to Toyota, the charging time ranges from one to 1.5 hours for the 200-volt battery and from three to four hours for the 100-volt battery. The Plug-in HV has a maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph).
Toyota admitted that “challenges still exist in the development of pure electric vehicles.” Those challenges include a limited cruising range – the Plug-in HV has a cruising range of 13 kilometers (8 miles) on electricity – and cost. But Toyota said that it “still views plug-in hybrid vehicles as a promising technology for allowing electricity to serve as a viable power source for automobiles.”