Toyota is reportedly looking to parlay the popularity of the Prius into a whole new line of vehicles under a possible Toyota sub-brand. This sub-brand would be made up of a line of hybrid vehicles including a Hybrid SUV and a Hybrid Station Wagon (pictured above).
With hybrid vehicles gaining popularity in the U.S., larger hybrid versions of the popular Prius might satisfy that American need to size and storage capacity. Soccer mom’s alone could justify a Toyota Hybrid Station Wagon.
According to a Japanese newspaper, Toyota executives are looking at using lithium-ion battery packs for the upcoming line of hybrid vehicles, even though Toyota has in the past stated that they felt lithium-ion batteries were too expensive.
There is still a great deal of speculation surrounding this possible new line of eco-friendly vehicles, so stay tuned as more details come forth.
Progressive automaker Toyota announced recently that they will be contributing ten electric Priuses to the SmartGridCity project, the world’s first comprehensive smart grid demonstration. Toyota’s participation in the project will allow researchers to test how plug-in EVs can fit into a smart grid.
The project is being coordinated by Xcel Energy and the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a new research venture by NREL and the university. The project aims to demonstrate how a smart grid can bring enhanced reliability and visibility to grid energy use. Participants will be able to monitor and remotely-control their homes’ energy use with smart meters.
The 2010 Toyota Prius is selling well, very well. In fact July of this year saw almost four time as many Prius Hybrids sold in Japan than July of 2008. In the first seven months of 2009, Toyota has sold almost 80,000 Prius Hybrids. Clearly the hybrid vehicle has arrived, but the question now is, can these sorts of sales be sustained by Toyota.
While maintaining consumer demand is one thing, acquiring enough nickel-metal hydride batteries from supplier Panasonic EV Energy Co. Currently, Toyota is receiving enough batteries to produce around a half million Prius Hybrids, but that’s not looking like it will meet up with demand.
According to Toyota senior managing director, Takahiko Ijichi, “The new Prius model has been excessively popular, inconveniencing some of our customers, and the factories are working overtime at full capacity.” Yet plans to open a new Toyota plant in Tupelo, Mississippi are still on hold because of the limited battery supply.
According to Panasonic, their production of nickel-metal hydride batteries is increasing and is expected to get up to one million units by this time next year.
An interesting combination of the economic recession in the United States and a perfect storm of contributing factors in Japan has resulted in Japan buying more hybrid vehicles in June than the U.S.
America’s population is more than double that of Japan’s and their GDP is almost five times, yet, in the month of June there were 8,782 Honda Insight hybrids sold and 22,292 Toyota Prius hybrids sold. Those two companies alone accounted for far more sales in Japan than all of the hybrids sold in U.S., which capped out at 26,205.
The dip in American car sales is no surprise, but what is really interesting the spike in Japan that has led to a seven month waiting list just to buy a 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid (pictured above).
It’s mainly a combination of high gas prices in Japan, at $4.50/gallon, and a government tax break that has made all hybrids exempt from purchasing tax.
According to a recent report by Japanese news agency, Nikkei, Toyota is planning to start producing around between 20,000 and 30,000 Plug-in versions of the Prius hybrid. The new electric plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid will cost around $48,000.
An interesting price point considering that the Chevy Volt is expected to start selling this year for $8,000 less than that. Plus, the standard Toyta Prius will be selling for less than half the cost of a plug-in Prius.
Toyota is expected to use lithium ion batteries with a 12-18 mile range although it hasn’t been revealed if that’s just on battery power alone or if the engine will need to run at all.
Test fleets of the plug-in Toyota Prius will start running this year. We’ll keep you informed on the results of those test.
Being in the neighborhood we decided to check out the Vancouver Epic Expo, a sustainable living trade show with some 300+ exhibits. Sponsored by the Vancouver Sun, Epic is Western Canada’s only green consumer trade show. The trade show lasted three days and we caught it today on Day Three.
While there were several stages for experts to share ideas on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle, the main focus of the trade show was obviously, the merchandise. And of that, there was plenty
While I was hoping to see more in the way of eco-gadgets, solar paneled purses was about the extent of it. There were, however, some cool eco-auto displays. Test drives were being offered a 2009 Toyota Prius.
Lexus also had several prototypes on display of upcoming Lexus hybrid models including the Lexus HS 250h (pictured above), which will hit dealer lots this fall. The HS 250h is a luxury hybrid sedan that boasts carbon neutral materials and plant-based plastics. Eighty-five percent of the Lexus HS 250h is fully recyclable. It will have 30-percent better fuel-efficiency than Lexus’ current most efficient model.
The funny folks over at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater have just released a new video that parodies the competitive nature of car owners.
While the video, starring Andy Richter and James Adomian, is technically pretending to be a Nissan ad, it’s really more about the perceived smugness of Toyota Prius owners. Even though we’re all Toyota Prius fans here, we can’t help but love this ad.
Conservative columnist George Will is nothing if not predictable. Will was on This Week with George Stephanopoulos last Sunday where he attacked Obama’s push for eco-friendly vehicles and claimed that the only reason the Toyota Prius is successful is because it is a loss leader.
A key quote of Will’s from the interview sums it all up nicely:
“[The Prius is] affordable because Toyota sells it at a loss, and it can afford to sell it at a loss because it is selling twice as many gas-guzzling pickup trucks of the sort our president detests. So as an auto executive, he’s off to a rocky start.”
Fortunately for Toyota that is just not true. Toyota has in fact been making a profit on the Prius since 2001. Each Prius Hybrid currently earns Toyota $3,100 USD.
This is not the first time that George Will has tried to pull a fast one for his political agenda. He once made false claims against global warming as well as claiming that the mining process required to get the of zinc necessary for a Prius’s batteries was worse for the environment than buying and operating a Hummer. This second argument was based on a discredited study.
Could a Prius hybrid powertrain find it’s way into a minivan? It might if the rumors coming out of Carscoop are correct. And.as Carscoop points out it would make perfect sense.
With Toyota offering some compact minivan options in Japan as the Verso in Europe they have plenty of places to marry this hybrid drivetrain with a base model.
Also, it would likely see a great reception in the United States. Soccer moms and hockey dad’s rejoice. If you’ve got a few kids in sports a low cost, high quality hybrid like this might be just the ticket to keep gas costs down.
For now, the Prius hybrid minivan is just a rumor, but it makes so much sense I’d be surprised if we don’t hear more about this in the near future.
With five trim levels to be available for the 2010 Toyota Prius it’s not too surprising that there is 50 percent increase in price from the base version to the pimped out top of the line Prius.
The official Prius prices see the base model starting at $21,000 while the top trim starts at $27,270. If you want the best Toyota Prius money can buy it will amount to $32,520.
The most basic trim, the Prius I, has a lower cost than the current generation of basic Prius which is valued at a $1,000 more. This price cut makes it much more of a competitor with the new Honda Insight which will go for $19,800.
The most expensive 2010 trim will be the Prius V with Toyota’s Advanced Technology Package (ATP) which includes: Navigation Package equipment and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Pre-Collision System, Lane Keep Assist and Intelligent Parking Assist. Having all this does have the drawback however, of precluding the solar roof package, which costs $900 less than the ATP.
