[This is a quick translation]
Toyota will sell plug in hybrid in 2011
Yomiuri, Dec. 7, 2009
On Dec. 4 Toyota announced plans to begin selling a plug in hybrid
(PHV) model in late 2011 that can be plugged into ordinary household
current. Target sales in the U.S. will be approximately 15,000
vehicles per year, and it will go on sale in Japan at the same time.
The price is expected to be around 3 million yen ($33,400). The
world's automakers are in a race to produce next generation eco-cars,
and Toyota has judged that rather than a pure electric car, a PHV
will be more practical because it has a greater range. The goal is
produce the car at a lower cost than a pure electric vehicle.
Toyota will equip the car with high performance lithium ion
batteries. On batteries alone the car has a range of 20 km, and when
the batteries run out, the hybrid engine then powers the car. This
exceeds the range of today's pure electric cars (which have a range
of about 100 km), and Toyota hopes it will take the lead in the
eco-car market. Sales in the U.S. are being given a high priority
because California has mandated that a certain percentage of total
car sales must be highly efficient eco-cars, and the regulations are
expected to be tightened.
