Toyota Motor Corporation announced Sunday night at the Detroit Auto Show that it would build its first plug-in hybrid by 2010 putting it in competition with General Motors which expects to sell Chevrolet Volt plug-in series hybrid also in 2010.
Unlike its existing Prius hybrid’s the new vehicle would be powered by lithium-ion batteries, instead of less powerful nickel-metal hydride batteries.
Both the decision of develop a plug-in hybrid and use lithium-ion batteries are turnarounds from Toyota’s previous statements dismissing plug-ins and stating opposition to lithium-ion batteries.
As a result of this initial opposition the Toyota plug-in maybe less developed than the specifications of the Chevrolet Volt. The New York Times describes differences between the two vehicles:
Each charge, which takes about four hours, uses the equivalent of 2.7 kilowatt hours of electricity, said Jaycie Chitwood, a senior strategic planner in Toyota’s advanced technologies group. But it cannot go very far: the plug-in hybrid’s two batteries hold enough power for only seven miles, said Saúl Ibarra, a product specialist with Toyota who worked on developing the Prius. By contrast, G.M. claims that the Volt will be able to hold a charge equal to 40 miles, after a six-hour charge. Still, the electric mode of the Toyota plug-in is enough to start the car and run it until the engine reaches the point where it needs to tap the gasoline engine. The plug-in Prius can stay in electric mode until 62 miles per hour, versus around 30 miles per hour for the conventional Prius, Mr. Iba- rra said.
All existing Prius hybrids in Japan and Europe have the ability to travel for about one mile on electricity from their batteries. This new model is a logical enhancement of that ability.