Planning for Prius plug-in underway
Plug-in hybrids aren’t expected to arrive at Toyota dealership, Libertyville for another couple years, but that doesn’t mean Toyota isn’t making preparations for it now. Recently, Toyota conducted the Sustainable Mobility Seminar, which featured presentations and panel discussions from global experts in energy, science and economics, exploring the future of mobility. During the event the automaker revealed details on the new 2010 Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV) demonstration program.
The Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV) differs from the conventional Prius in that it is capable of driving at higher speeds and longer distances in electric only mode. The vehicle is able to go a distance of 13 miles and achieve speeds of up to 60 mph in electric only mode. For longer distance the (PHV) switches to conventional Prius mode.
Toyota Libertyville Prius Plug-In Hybrid works by incorporating three lithium-ion battery packs. The vehicle starts in all electric mode using battery pack one. When this battery pack is depleted, it disconnects from the circuit and battery pack two engages to supply electric power. When the second battery pack is used up the system switches to conventional hybrid mode using the main battery. The two electric-only battery packs can’t be used again until the vehicle is plugged in and charged.
The Prius (PHV) demonstration program will provide 150 vehicles in the U.S. to universities, corporations, city, state and federal governments, car sharing programs and other subject matter experts. Toyota announced that among groups that will receive the vehicle are Qualcomm, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Southern California Air Quality Management District, University of California, Berkeley, University of Colorado, and Portland State University with more to come.
Toyota Libertyville is hoping that the PHV demonstration program will provide it with real world vehicle-use feedback to better understand customer expectations for plug-in technology.
The program will also be able to evaluate the performance of the lithium-ion battery technology and possibly increase interest in developing public charging stations.
Toyota has also launched a new website, www.toyota.com/esq in order to inform and educate media and consumers on Toyota environmental, safety and quality initiatives, as well as provide data on the demonstration vehicles.
All this is being done in order to prepare the market for the arrival of plug-in hybrids at Toyota dealership Libertyville sometime in 2012.
