Toyota pledges plug-in hybrid with Li-ion batteries by 2010
My fiance and my parents are both in the market for a new car, and they both want the Prius. Too bad, I told them, because there's a global shortage of nickel-metal hydride batteries that's crippling the supply of Toyota's feel good go machine. I didn't bother telling them that the Prius is essentially a relatively old vehicle by today's standards and that new green machines like the series hybrid Chevy Volt and plug-in versions of the Saturn Vue Green Line and Ford Escape Hybrid are right around the corner. While the next-gen Prius is also right around corner (should debut in January at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, but will reportedly still use NiMH batteries), Toyota recently gave its word that it would also have a plug-in hybrid vehicle using lithium-ion batteries on sale in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by 2010. That's a bold claim, as few manufacturers have been so confident that production-viable li-ion batteries will be ready by then (General Motors being the notable exception). Toyota has partnered with electronics giant Matsushita, however, and their joint-venture will begin producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and ramp up to full production in 2010. Other than that, we know very little about Toyota's 2010 plug-in hybrid, other than that it should get great gas mileage. Toyota also announced that it's setting up a battery research department to develop a new type of battery that can even outperform li-ions. The point is, I'm not going to let my friends and family buy a Prius right now, or any other hybrid for that matter. There's too much next-gen green technology that's right on our door step, and when these green 2.0 vehicles arrive, the Prius will appear downright dirty by comparison.[Source: The Detroit Free Press]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Aprime 11:08AM (6/11/2008)
... So who's playing "me too!" now?
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Blake 1:01PM (6/11/2008)
Exactly! Wasn't this the same company who earlier this year was bashing GM's li-ion technology in the Volt as vaporware?
spwolf 3:36PM (6/11/2008)
lol... GM doesnt even know the name of their battery supplier, yet... they sell less than 1,000 hybrids per quarter right now...
:-)
Aprime 9:24PM (6/11/2008)
They do, they picked it (listen to what Lutz said when he picked up his Vectrix scooter), they just won't publicize it.
Rumor is it's LG CHEM.
Koko 11:09AM (6/11/2008)
Just what we need, all vehicles to go electric. Then we overtax the dated power grid and cause all sorts of havoc. Electricity prices will skyrocket and offeset any savings of not using gas. Good idea everyone!
Ok so I'm just speculating, but I personally don't feel electric transportation is the answer.
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Bah 11:37AM (6/11/2008)
The oil market is just speculating, too. If enough people say it / believe it, then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
thedude3389 11:37AM (6/11/2008)
I must agree...but then, what is? Ethenol will skyrocket the food prices, Oil is skyrocketing everything and costs TOO much. Hydrogen cars? I like them, but until they are safe (in a LONG time from now) ill buy one. So, what do we have thats cheap and reliable...Nothing... So, electricity, despite the cost, might just be the best we got, and its the best for the enviorment (wtih clean coal plants, hydroelectric, etc...
why not the LS2LS7? 12:01PM (6/11/2008)
Electricity can be made from lots of things, we don't have to use oil to make it. Switching to electricity will allow us much more energy source flexibility and thus if OPEC wants to raise the price of oil, we can switch to other energy sources without having to retrofit or replace every car on the road.
John B 2:40PM (6/11/2008)
Electricity demand is highly cyclical on a daily basis with a lot of reserve transmission (and generating) capacity during the evening hours when batteries could be recharged.
Rick 12:50PM (6/11/2008)
I guess you've never seen those blue shiny sheets of a hard material people put on top of houses and buildings?
If we have an electric car and charge it via a solar array, you PAY $0 for transportation. Great idea people!
FrankTheCrank 1:22PM (6/11/2008)
Great point Rick, about the solar panels. Now, if only getting energy from solar panels was cheap enough. In due time.
Having an alternative to OIL will create competition that could possibly drive oil prices down. Being that OIL is the only game in town, puts our nation at risk.
BlazerUnit 3:20PM (6/11/2008)
Koko, have you ever stopped to think, then forget to start again? That's what I got from your 'speculation'.
Assuming you're recharging an electric vehicle smartly, you'd be recharging it overnight, outside of peak energy use. Assuming a driver isn't stupid enough to have a commute that saps over half of the car's range, one should have enough to make it home and charge it all over again.
DP 11:09AM (6/11/2008)
"I'm not going to let my friends and family buy a Prius right now, or any other hybrid for that matter. There's too much next-gen green technology that's right on our door step, and when these green 2.0 vehicles arrive, the Prius will appear downright dirty by comparison."
... My friend:
So what would less "downright dirty" for them to drive for the next 2 -3 years as they wait for the next-gen technology to arrive?? (Realizing that if these whiz-bang things really work, the waiting lists will make the Prius (~ 6 months) and smart (22 months) seem like a cat nap!
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Thom 11:13AM (6/11/2008)
I know that many new hybrids and plug-in's are coming in the next year or two .But somebody out there needs to be buying todays hybrids as "used" or "pre-owned" so that we can buy those new technologies when they get here.
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geo.stewart 11:52AM (6/11/2008)
ultimate question, what is the LONG term cost/life of these hybrids. How long do the batteries last? When they die, what does it cost to replace? Ditto for hybrid 2.0?
I'm sure lab tests have been done, but have they compared to real-world?
Dont know if I am out in left field/ignorant, or if this is hybrid's dirty little secret.
And ultimately we have to deal with disposal of. And what does that do for a collectors market. I can have a 15-20-25-50 yr old car that runs with the original drivetrain but I dont see that with anything with batteries.
Charles S 4:01PM (6/11/2008)
My hybrid is now 7 years old at 85,000 miles, still on the original battery. No problem.
Brad 11:13AM (6/11/2008)
The problem with thinking you'll hold off for the next batch of technology really never benefits you. There will ALWAYS be something newer and better JUST on your doorstep. It may be the Volt now, but by the time you can take delivery of it, the new Prius will be coming out. Then by the time you get that, something else will take the spotlight.
You can never win with the waiting game.
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Pluton 11:15AM (6/11/2008)
Last time I tries plugin Hybid, it was a disaster. Those plugin Hybrid requires a Special Outlet that was only available in few specialized station. Even though milage was better but it wasn't good enough for any long distance travelling and even though cost of re-charging was far less then re-fueling but I am sure if electric demand increases, Electric companies will re-adjust their rates and we'll be paying similar to gas again. In florida, Florida Power & Light alraedy increased bill by 30 percent for everyone.
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TJ 11:14AM (6/11/2008)
Toyota panders to the fringe more than Obama! And that's saying a lot....
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Steve Henderson 12:32PM (6/11/2008)
This is the most ignorant and irrelevant comment someone could have made. Congrats.