Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Press
Release
TORRANCE, Calif., December 2, 2009 -- The
2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHV)
will make its North American debut today at
the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Built specifically to support a global
demonstration program that begins this
month, the Prius PHV is based on the
third-generation Prius. The vehicle expands
Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology
with the introduction of a first generation
lithium-ion battery that enables
all-electric operation at higher speeds and
longer distances than the conventional Prius
hybrid. When fully charged, the vehicle is
targeted to achieve a maximum electric-only
range of approximately 13 miles and will be
capable of achieving highway speeds up to 60
mph in electric-only mode. For longer
distances, the Prius PHV reverts to “hybrid
mode” and operates like a regular Prius.
This ability to utilize all-electric power
for short trips or hybrid power for longer
drives alleviates the issue of limited
cruising range encountered with pure
electric vehicles.
Beginning later this month, a total of 350
vehicles will begin delivery in Japan and
Europe in support of model programs with
business and government partners aimed at
raising societal awareness of, and
preparedness for, this important new
technology.
Beginning early next year, 150 vehicles will
start arriving in the U.S., where they will
be placed in regional clusters with select
partners for market/consumer analysis and
technical demonstration.
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On the consumer side, the U.S. program will
allow Toyota to gather real world
vehicle-use feedback to better understand
customer expectations for plug-in
technology. On the technical side, the
program aims to confirm, in a wide variety
of real world applications, the overall
performance of first-generation lithium-ion
battery technology, while spurring the
development of public-access charging
station infrastructure.
All vehicles will be equipped with data
retrieval devices which will monitor
activities such as how often the vehicle is
charged and when; whether the batteries are
depleted or being topped off during
charging; trip duration, all-EV driving
range, combined mpg and so on.
“This program is a necessary first step in
societal preparation, in that it allows us
the unique opportunity to inform, educate
and prepare customers for the introduction
of plug-in hybrid technology,” said Irv
Miller, TMS group vice president,
environmental and public affairs. “When
these vehicles come to market, customers
must understand what to expect and if this
technology is the right fit for them.”
In October, Toyota announced its first
regional program partnership with Xcel
Energy’s SmartGridCity program in Boulder,
Colo. Ten PHVs will be placed with Boulder
residents who will participate in an
interdisciplinary research project
coordinated by the University of Colorado at
Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Institute (RASEI), a new joint venture
between the U.S. Department of Energy’s
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
RASEI, Xcel Energy and TMS will use this
program to gather data on vehicle
performance and charging patterns, consumer
behavior and preferences, as well as
electric utility/customer interactions. The
locale offers the additional benefit of
monitoring high altitude, cold climate
performance of Toyota’s first generation
lithium-ion battery.
Additional partners will be announced soon.
Regional programs are currently slated for
California, Washington D.C., New York,
Oregon and Pennsylvania. Each placement
scenario will have a variety of ‘use cases’
or driving conditions to gain maximum input
to vehicle performance and customer needs.
To assist with customer education, Toyota
has launched a PHV demonstration program
website – www.priusphv.com. At the site,
visitors can learn more about the
technology, follow the program’s progress
and, once the vehicles are deployed, track
the performance of the demonstration program
fleet. This transparent communication of
vehicle performance and real world data will
allow customers to make informed decisions
when considering the purchase of a plug-in
hybrid vehicle.