Visitors to the recent Los Angeles Auto Show were treated to
the North American debut of Toyota’s 2010 Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The 2010 Toyota
Prius Plug-in Hybrid is built on the same platform as the third-generation
Prius but features a first-generation lithium-ion battery. Toyota noted that
the plug-in version of its popular hybrid was possible due to one million miles
and three years of testing on this new battery. The Prius Plug-in Hybrid will
start road testing throughout the world at the end of this month.
Toyota claims that the Prius Plug-in Hybrid is capable of
all-electric power at higher speeds and longer distance than its hybrid
counterpart. The Prius Plug-in is projected to get 13 miles of all-electric
power at speeds as high as 60 miles per hour. Once the Prius Plug-in exhausts
its all-electric capabilities, the drive system reverts to the Hybrid Synergy
Drive used in the regular Prius. The all-electric power in the Prius Plug-in is
possible because of the battery created by Toyota subsidiary Panasonic Electric
Vehicle Energy.
The North American debut of the 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in
kicks off the automaker’s global road testing process. Toyota will deliver 350
Prius Plug-ins to customers in Japan and Europe at the end of this month to
conduct year-long tests. The company plans to distribute 150 units to American
customers starting in January 2010. Toyota has already committed 10 Prius
Plug-in units to Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity project in Boulder, Colorado with
additional units heading to New York City, Washington D.C. and other cities. Each Toyota test unit features a data tracking system keeping tabs on battery
performance, all-electric mileage and other metrics. Test
drivers will also keep track of their driving experiences to help Toyota make
the Prius Plug-in more reflective of customer needs.
Toyota looks to be back on track to leading the market in
high-mileage vehicles. Critics have pointed out that Toyota has sat on its
laurels recently with the decade-long success of the Prius. The automaker
is shrewdly using the Prius body as a building point for its next generation of
vehicles. The in-house creation of a durable lithium-ion battery shows that
Toyota is looking for components that can be used in multiple lines. The 2010
Toyota Prius Plug-in bridges the past with the present in terms of hybrid
technology but demonstrates a longer view toward all-electric transportation.
