Right Lane Cruiser
07-08-2009, 07:58 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Japanese_Flag_30x22.jpg The all-electric Toyota FT-EV subcompact also slated to launch by 2012. (http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS23679304520090706)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Toyota_Prius_II_OEM_PHEV_Plug.jpgJosie Garthwaite - REUTERS (http://www.reuters.com) - July 6, 2009
The automotive scene is about to get very interesting! --Ed.
Less than three years: that’s the wait time left for a plug-in hybrid from Toyota at commercial scale, according to reports this weekend from Japan’s Nikkei (h/t Reuters). The news that Toyota plans to start churning out at least 20,000 to 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012 comes just one month after the company first detailed plans to lease plug-in hybrids based on the latest Prius model with lithium-ion batteries.
Toyota’s plans to move forward with mass production of its plug-in hybrid vehicle within the next few years — at a price comparable to Mitsubishi’s planned electric vehicle, according to the Nikkei’s sources — represents another major milestone for a technology that’s widely seen as the future of electric car batteries. The timeline also offers a glimpse of the competition coming down the pipeline for plug-in hybrid makers like General Motors with its Chevy Volt, and to some extent Fisker Automotive and Hyundai with their plug-in hybrid sports cars, as well as Honda if it eventually ends up pursuing plug-in hybrid tech. (Honda President Takeo Fukui described it as an option under consideration earlier this year.)
For comparison, former Volt frontman Bob Lutz has said GM is supposed to roll out 10,000 units of the model in 2011, and have as many as 60,000 of them in showrooms in 2012. On the upside for GM, the Volt looks like its $40,000 price tag will be significantly lower than the price Toyota is aiming for. (Mitsubishi plans to offer its EV to fleet customers in Japan for around 4.59 million yen, or $47,800.)
But GM won’t necessarily be able to afford to compete on cost in the plug-in hybrid market (or trim prices the way Toyota has with the Prius in response to the new Honda Insight) over the long term. Aside from being fresh from banktuptcy, GM doesn’t expect to profit on the... http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS23679304520090706
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Toyota_Prius_II_OEM_PHEV_Plug.jpgJosie Garthwaite - REUTERS (http://www.reuters.com) - July 6, 2009
The automotive scene is about to get very interesting! --Ed.
Less than three years: that’s the wait time left for a plug-in hybrid from Toyota at commercial scale, according to reports this weekend from Japan’s Nikkei (h/t Reuters). The news that Toyota plans to start churning out at least 20,000 to 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012 comes just one month after the company first detailed plans to lease plug-in hybrids based on the latest Prius model with lithium-ion batteries.
Toyota’s plans to move forward with mass production of its plug-in hybrid vehicle within the next few years — at a price comparable to Mitsubishi’s planned electric vehicle, according to the Nikkei’s sources — represents another major milestone for a technology that’s widely seen as the future of electric car batteries. The timeline also offers a glimpse of the competition coming down the pipeline for plug-in hybrid makers like General Motors with its Chevy Volt, and to some extent Fisker Automotive and Hyundai with their plug-in hybrid sports cars, as well as Honda if it eventually ends up pursuing plug-in hybrid tech. (Honda President Takeo Fukui described it as an option under consideration earlier this year.)
For comparison, former Volt frontman Bob Lutz has said GM is supposed to roll out 10,000 units of the model in 2011, and have as many as 60,000 of them in showrooms in 2012. On the upside for GM, the Volt looks like its $40,000 price tag will be significantly lower than the price Toyota is aiming for. (Mitsubishi plans to offer its EV to fleet customers in Japan for around 4.59 million yen, or $47,800.)
But GM won’t necessarily be able to afford to compete on cost in the plug-in hybrid market (or trim prices the way Toyota has with the Prius in response to the new Honda Insight) over the long term. Aside from being fresh from banktuptcy, GM doesn’t expect to profit on the... http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS23679304520090706