Toyota will set up a special team in early 2017 to develop EVs, according to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper (via Reuters). The four-person team will include representatives from Toyota Motor, Aisin Seiki, Denso and Toyota Industries, with instructions to develop a long-range EV that will go on sale in 2020 in Japan, and possibly in California… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "toyota"
Is Toyota warming up to plug-in vehicles?
Toyota has earned the disapproval of many in the EV community for setting up what many see as an artificial competition among different powertrain technologies. Its execs have made statements disparaging battery EVs, and its Lexus subsidiary has run ads mocking EVs. Lately however, there have been signs that the world’s largest automaker may be… Read more »
Toyota R&D team improves free piston linear generators
Unlike a traditional ICE, which propels a drive shaft, a free piston engine linear generator (FPEG) is designed to generate electricity directly. Magnets attached to the piston move within a linear coil, converting kinetic energy to electrical energy. A team from Toyota Central R&D Labs presented a prototype FPEG to the SAE in 2014. Now… Read more »
Toyota to launch two new PHEVs in China
Has Toyota decided that plug-in vehicles have a future after all? Or is the company just taking advantage of Chinese policies that incentivize people to buy PHEVs, even if they never plan to plug them in? Whatever its motivation may be, Toyota has announced that it will launch plug-in hybrid versions of the Corolla and… Read more »
2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid unveiled
The auto world is already abuzz over the new and improved Toyota Prius, and this week the plug-in posse got a charge as the new plug-in hybrid version was unveiled at the New York Auto Show. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, as the new PHEV is called, will have an 8.8 kWh battery pack and… Read more »
New ads for next-gen Chevrolet Volt attack Nissan LEAF, Toyota Prius
The 2016 Chevrolet Volt is a tour de force of engineering, a substantial step forward over its predecessor (see our cover story in the current issue of Charged). However, some EV industry observers fear that unless GM follows up on the technical improvements with some meaningful marketing, an area in which EV-makers have fallen short… Read more »
Nissan, GM and Toyota repurpose used EV batteries for stationary storage
Tesla may have made it trendy, but the California company is far from the only automaker exploring the commercial energy storage market, which is expected to grow from $200 million in 2012 to $19 billion in 2017, according to research firm IHS CERA. Nissan has joined forces with Green Charge Networks to deploy second-life EV… Read more »
Toyota Research team reports critical advance in electrolytes for magnesium batteries
Still looking for a replacement for lithium? How about magnesium? It’s divalent, so it can displace double the charge per ion (i.e., Mg2+ rather than Li+). It’s much more abundant than lithium, and more stable. However, researchers investigating Mg-ion batteries have run into several limitations, including anode/electrolyte incompatibility. Now a team at the Toyota Research… Read more »
Toyota forced to build electric cars in China
Toyota has made no secret of its disdain for battery-electric vehicles in favor of fuel cells, but like other high-volume OEMs, it was compelled to produce an EV by the California authorities – the RAV4 EV, which the company did not market, and discontinued as soon as possible. Now it seems that the world’s largest automaker will… Read more »
Quick Charge Power to offer CHAdeMO DC Fast Charging upgrade for Toyota RAV4 EV
Quick Charge Power, the EVSE company founded by well-known EV advocated Tony Williams, is developing kits for drivers who are looking for a serious charging upgrade. For EV owners without a DC Fast Charging option, Williams is building a CHAdeMO upgrade kit called JdeMO. The idea was inspired by Williams’s Toyota RAV4 EV, which was sold… Read more »