Toyota tells Popular Mechanics battery production is the "biggest hurdle" to plug-in cars

How high on the list of things keeping us from plug-in electric cars do you put the “quality production of batteries?” According to Popular Mechanics, Toyota puts it right up top, ahead of even battery chemistry. Here is exactly what the article says:

A source inside Toyota tells PM that getting the lithium-ion packs into mass production-not the chemistry-is the company’s biggest hurdle. On a trip to Japan late last year during which we drove a plug-in Prius prototype, Toyota engineers admitted to PM that producing cells en masse while upholding the company’s usual quality was proving very difficult.

The article starts off by talking about electric cars, battery chemistry, then battery production and ends with top 10 electric rides. Here are Popular Mechanic’s top 10 plug-in cars:

1. Cadillac Provoq

2 .Chevrolet Volt

3. Chyrsler EcoVoyager

4. Dodge ZEO

5. Fisker Automotive Karma Hybrid

6. Jeep Renegade

7. Mercedes-Benz S 300 BlueTec

8. Saturn Flextreme

9. Tesla Roadster

10. Toyota Prius

Related:

• Toyota still apprehensive about lithium ion in spite of PHEV plans
• Toyota to delay introduction of lithium ion batteries in the Prius
• Toyota executive engineer sees rising hybrid battery prices, lithium batteries in 10 years

[Source: Popular Mechanics and tipster Matt]

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