Autoblog

Shortly after the turn of the decade, Toyota expects sales of its hybrid vehicles to crest the one million unit per year mark. ToMoCo's goal may seem a bit ambitious considering that it's only sold about 1.25 million hybrids since the Prius' introduction in 1997, but the alternative-power push will mainly be fueled by sales of upcoming plug-in hybrid models and Toyota's aim to equip every vehicle in its lineup with a hybrid drivetrain by 2020.

Testing of the plug-in version of the Prius is about to begin in the U.S., Europe and Japan, equipped with a fancy-schmancy lithium-ion battery that's being developed by Toyota and Panasonic EV Energy Co. Sales should start around 2010, assuming that all is well with the power-pack, and we're expecting even more Synergy-Drive models to bow during the upcoming 2008 show season.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Leaving no stone unturned when looking at a more efficient future, Toyota has teamed up with the Univerisity of California to further study the viability of plug-in hybrid versions of the Prius. As part of the research, Toyota donated two prototype Prius models modified for plug-in operations to the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley and the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UC Irvine. The two university programs will study ways to measure and test fuel economy and emissions, including upstream emissions from power generation, as well as what sacrifices people are willing to make, how much they'd actively seek to plug their cars in, and what type of range and charge time they're willing to live with.

The current Prius provides a good base for the research, and didn't change drastically to pull PHEV duty. There's a larger battery pack occupying the space normally reserved for the spare tire, and the powertrain controller allows more frequent EV-mode operation, as well as running on battery to about 60 mph. The battery pack size will shrink as new technologies come online, and the limited (7 miles) range in EV mode will likely also increase. Quite an about-face from the days not too long ago when Toyota was vociferously denouncing PHEV conversions of their cockroach-shaped four-wheeled eco-statement.

Hit the jump for Toyota's press release.

Volvo has long tried to be good environmental stewards. Even before its revolutionary Lambda-Sond system in the late 1970s, the Gothenburg-based automaker had been making efforts to tread lightly. Now comes word that Volvo has developed a hybrid version of the C30 hatchback. The drive system is reportedly a series hybrid, with the batteries being charged on the go by a diesel powerplant. There's plug-in charging capabilities, as well. The batteries alone can provide motive power for about 45 miles before the generator awakes. The electrified C30 will be part of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum, where engineers will presumably be trying to break stuff so that any production version has well-vetted hardware. No details are available about whether the hybrid hardware was developed in-house by Volvo or bequeathed by parent Ford, which developed a similar series hybrid drivetrain with a hydrogen fuel-cell generator for the Airstream Concept that debuted at the Detroit Auto Show this year.

[Source: Autobild - in German]