Toyota has announced that it will someday release a preview of a possible electric SUV for the European market. Details are “to be announced in the coming months.” The unnamed “preview model” will be based on Toyota’s new e-TNGA platform. The new platform is designed to be easily adaptable for a range of vehicle types—some… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Mirai"
Toyota partners with Air Liquide to develop hydrogen fueling stations for new Mirai sedan
Toyota has announced that its hydrogen fuel-cell sedan, unveiled at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, will be called the Mirai, which means “future” in Japanese. “For us, this isn’t just another car,” said Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda at a pre-show press event. “This is an opportunity to really make a difference. This is a… Read more »
Does Toyota’s BEV Factory really represent a new direction?
Toyota has a credibility problem when it comes to e-mobility. The giant automaker’s corporate right hand pursues a number of EV initiatives around the world, while its left hand continues to spread misinformation and lobby against pro-EV policies. Many are hopeful that the recent changes in the company’s executive suite portend a new, more electric… Read more »
Author of new study says hydrogen “unlikely to play major role in road transport, even for heavy trucks”
Reasonable minds disagree on whether hydrogen has a role to play in the clean-energy future, or whether it’s just a vehicle for oil-company greenwashing. However, it’s becoming clear (to scientists, if not to politicians) that batteries are superior to fuel cells for most road transport applications. A new study published in the journal Nature Electronics… Read more »
Carbon Counter charts emissions and price of all US auto models
How green is an EV? A PHEV? A hybrid? Most Charged readers understand that the answer depends on many factors, including the efficiency of a particular model, the region in which it operates, and the type of driving it’s used for. The clever folks at MIT have devised the ingenious Carbon Counter, an online tool… Read more »
Toyota actively lobbies against support for EVs
Toyota has earned a place in the history of transport electrification. The Japanese automaker’s introduction of the Prius hybrid in 1997 was a milestone. Since then, the company has sold some 15 million hybrids worldwide, and has gradually added hybrid powertrains to more of its offerings—a majority of Toyota and Lexus models are now available… Read more »
Who’s behind the current wave of hype about hydrogen?
Hydrogen fuel cells are controversial—several automakers, including Daimler, Honda, GM and Volkswagen, have abandoned the technology, while Toyota continues to pursue it. Hydrogen opponents cite its inefficiency relative to batteries, and question the wisdom of building a complex and costly new infrastructure. On the other hand, many believe that hydrogen may have a role to… Read more »
Government of Canada launches Hydrogen Strategy
Most automakers may have rejected hydrogen as an energy storage medium for passenger vehicles (Toyota is the notable exception), but the technology may yet find applications for industrial processes, and in other forms of transportation such as aviation and shipping. Some envision the lightest element as a medium to store energy from intermittent renewable sources,… Read more »
BMW reveals details of hydrogen fuel cell powertrain system
Different automakers have different visions of the low-emissions future, to say the least. Just a few days after the Volkswagen Group released an article explaining why it has abandoned hydrogen fuel cells in favor of battery-electric powertrains, BMW has “reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to hydrogen fuel cell powertrain system technology.” Unlike VW, BMW is leaving… Read more »
Toyota and Panasonic explore joint prismatic battery development
Toyota and Panasonic have agreed to begin studying the feasibility of a joint automotive prismatic battery business. Panasonic has positioned lithium-ion batteries as one of its key businesses, and its automotive batteries are used by many automakers worldwide. Toyota, maker of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, has been a holdout when… Read more »