Toyota has done a terrific job the past few years of saturating its dealerships with plenty of Prius hybrids, with sales expected to grow by 40-percent to 280,000 units in 2007. The boys and girls from Aichi, Japan have plenty of other hybrids in the fold also, with a grand total of 430,000 units expected to leave Toyota and Lexus dealerships this year.
To date, Toyota has already put one million hybrids on the road, and it's just the beginning. Three of the biggest obsticals for hybrid technology are cost, availability, and Lithium Ion technology, and Toyota is expecting all those dominos to fall within three years. Relentless cost reduction efforts lead Toyota to speculate that their margin on hybrids will equal that of petrol-only vehicles by 2010, and by 2020, Toyota expects that all of its vehicles will have the hybrid synergy drive system. The next Prius is expected to utilize Lithium Ion technology, which would be a big step forward in the chronology of hybrid powertrains.
Toyota has pubically voiced its displeasure of a potential mandate that automakers increase fuel economy by 20-percent across the board by 2020, but with every vehicle in its lineup expected to feature hybrid technology within 13 years, we don't think they're really sweating 35 MPG all that much.
[Source: autoindustry.co.uk]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Avinash machado @ May 12th 2007 7:55AM
GM and Ford should really step up their Hybrid programs. With Toyota on the march, this is no time for them to be complacent.
SWAT LAX @ May 12th 2007 8:06AM
Does this mean that the hybrid will be a powertrain option in every one of their vehicles, or that every single car with a Toyota badge will be a hybrid?
Tyo @ May 12th 2007 8:42AM
i posted something similar the other day regarding the ford hybrid. Why on earth is anyone focusing on this at all. Batteries, especially li-ion ones are not helping the problem here at all, sure it might gain you a few mpg vs a v6, but an efficient turbo diesel has already proven to be just as good. As for the environtment, ive gotta think disposal of all the batteries in all the hybrid cars(thousands of tons,think about it) is worse for the environtment than the emmissions. call me crazy
TJ @ May 12th 2007 8:57AM
Can't you recycle or dispose of the battery properly. There are battery recycling program out there, right???
dcwf @ May 12th 2007 8:59AM
obsticals? pubically? I'm sure that was quite a press conferece (was black tie optional?)
geo.stewart @ May 12th 2007 9:40AM
so, the post yesterday said that the prius would be the name for all hybrid drive vehicles and that they would not resemble non-hybrid models.
this seems to contradict that.
And #3 makes a good point...
Galley @ May 12th 2007 9:40AM
Surely by the year 2020 we won't still be relying on fossil-fuel technology!
goat @ May 12th 2007 10:02AM
#3:
Exactly right. I don't know why so many people buy into this gimmick. Hybrids do work in dense urban settings, but make no sense for people who primarily do freeway commuting. And the environmental damage from the extra battery production/disposal is something to consider when evaluating the entire vehicle's environmental impact over its lifecycle.
Also, I find it laughable that people will buy a Prius for a 100 mile per day commute. If people really want to be "earth friendly," they can not commute 100 miles per day. You'd save more resources by living closer to your workplace, and buying a used car.
Val @ May 12th 2007 10:11AM
Batteries do not go into landfills, even the smaller ones are recycled. In supermarkets there are boxes in which people can throw their old alkaline or rechargeable batteries. Of course, some would just prefer to throw them in the thrash bin, but you cannot throw a car like that. The lithium and nickel are still there, and they are pretty valuable, so no company should be willing to part with them. They just require too much resources and water to get from raw ore.
mj @ May 12th 2007 10:54AM
It costs a lot of energy to make a hybrid and esp. to 'recycle' it. Of which, we have no proof from Toyota. It's just a lot of lies and hot air from California, Hollywood stars and legislators.
A diesel creates less CO2, and supposedly that's what the global warming is all about. So what did the Greenies do? Basically outlaw all diesel passenger cars for the last couple years. Yes, I'm sure that's the best thing for the environment. Or maybe japan, you think?
... @ May 12th 2007 11:08AM
diesels aren't really taking a step forward in technology or efficiency. As hybrids become more refined, they will surpass diesels in fuel economy. The next gen of the prius is expected to get something like 110 mpg, but something like 90 seems more likely
EnviroBob @ May 12th 2007 12:35PM
A recent by Stanford University shows that bio-diesel emissions are worse to breathe- especially for asthmatics than gasoline powered vehicle emissions. The study also showed that E85 emissions are worse than stanard gasoline as well.
ronaldraygun @ May 12th 2007 12:35PM
hell why not do a diesel with hybrid technology? what kind of batteries are priuses using now? if nickel a lot more MPG will be obtained from lithium ion or polymer since they're so much lighter and even last longer
donee @ May 12th 2007 12:50PM
Diesels only have hybrid competitive fuel economy on the iter-urban highway, and if they have a turbo. In suburban traffic, diesels have worse vehicle energy efficiency than a hybrid like the Prius. The Prius already surpasses all the diesel cars available in fuel economy per unit energy. Diesel has 1.3 times the energy density of regular gasoline. So, until a Diesel does 55 times 1.3 = 71.5 mpg in surburan driving they are not competitive.
The 110 mpg next gen Prius report is based on a Japanese test protocol. The actual improvement is about 25 % over the 2nd generation Prius, or about 68 mpg EPA combined.
Marketing types have taken the Prius fantastic city mileage performance and turned this upside down. Instead they say the Prius is poor on the highway. The facts are the Prius is excellent in fuel economy on the highway, and that standard cars are just plain crap in the suruban slow-and-go. When is the last time you got 50 mpg on regular gasoline at 65 mph in any car ? This is even better than a Harley-Davidson Motorcyle!
At slow speeds there is very little wind drag, and the main loss is just rolling resistance. Think about it - why do standard cars get such poor fuel economy at slow speeds? Because they do not recover braking and downhill energy, and the engines do not have good efficiency at low power levels, and to control an engine speed change crisply the system has to waste gas (socalled "enrichment"). The Prius system adresses all these problems, and it uses more than just its Hybrid system to do that.
far jr @ May 12th 2007 12:53PM
Envirobob, I presume you refer to ethanol enhanced gasoline and not MBTE laden gasoline? Please provide a link. I love the sweet smell of ethanol burning. Of course I like diesel smoke and smoke from burning rubber too, so I digress.
Ed @ May 12th 2007 1:07PM
This is what I have told all automakers, that they should make ALL of their vehicles hybrids. It just make more sense nowadays.
John @ May 12th 2007 1:25PM
Since enviro-whiners are the smartest kids in the room, tell me, does Greenpeace have any fuel-efficient models I can test-drive or buy? How about the Sierra Club?
Instead of whining and fleecing, contribute to the solution.
YouthDriver @ May 12th 2007 2:06PM
I agree with #3's comments. The other side of this is the amount of C02 created when you actually make the battery. The amount of energy that goes into making a hybrid car can outweigh any energy savings benefit the hybrid system makes during the lifetime of the car. Just because it’s not coming from burning gasoline doesn’t mean its energy efficient.
http://omidr.typepad.com/torque/2007/03/toyotas_prius_i.html
Julius @ May 12th 2007 2:24PM
Battery availability and recycling is a major issue - we barely have enough recycling capacity for the current uses of batteries (laptops, cordless tools, etc) and haven't expanded it to large-scale automotive usage.
And there was a problem with Escape production a year or two ago just because of a lack of batteries.
Now if we try to expand hybrid production to all the vehicles produced, then I'd expect automotive prices to shoot through the roof because of a lack of supply - we'd have to expand the current battery manufacturing capabilities 100-fold.
Now one thing I have yet to hear any hybrid maker discuss is how degraded battery effectiveness over time impacts fuel economy. I have older laptops that can only hold several minutes' worth of charge before alarming; I can imagine what a drag a car would be with an ancient battery pack - and imagine the resale value of a car in need of a $2k battery replacement.
Jonathan Hicks @ May 12th 2007 2:37PM
Toyota should not expand thier hybrid lineup because it would not make sense to sell hybrid Tundras, Siennas, or Scions. Toyota should offer a hybrid RAV4 with the Camry's 2.4 liter hybrid engine with a CVT.