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 »
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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 »
Toyota tests silicon carbide power semiconductors in a hybrid Camry and fuel cell bus
Power semiconductors are key components of the power control units (PCUs) used in all types of vehicles with electric powertrains – EVs, hybrids and fuel cell vehicles. Current power semiconductors are leaky, accounting for around 20 percent of a vehicle’s electrical losses, so raising their efficiency could be a rewarding area of study. Toyota has… Read more »
Toyota exec sneers at Tesla for having electric eggs in one basket
Despite the best efforts of EV journalists to keep the peace, the battery and hydrogen teams are squaring off for a smackdown. In one corner, Tesla’s Elon Musk, who continues to deride the efficiency and practicality drawbacks of what he calls “fool cells.” In the other corner, Toyota, whose Lexus subsidiary runs ads ridiculing battery-electric… Read more »
Toyota opens up its fuel cell patents; BMW will also research FCVs
Taking a page from Tesla’s book, Toyota plans to make some 5,680 patents on fuel cell technologies available royalty-free. The motivation appears to be much the same – just as Tesla hopes to encourage other automakers to produce battery EVs, Toyota wants to “open the door to the hydrogen future” and “spur development and introduction… Read more »