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Reuters Toyota unveils plug-in hybrid, to test on roads By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent Wed Jul 25, 11:42 AM ET TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. T) unveiled a "plug-in" hybrid car based on its popular Prius model on Wednesday, saying it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads -- a first for the industry.
Click Here But the world's biggest automaker said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, was not fit for commercialization since it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries believed to be a better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars. Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, plug-in cars are designed to enable short trips powered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can be charged through an electric socket at home. Many environmental advocates see them as the best available technology to reduce gasoline consumption and global-warming greenhouse gas emissions, but engineers say battery technology is still insufficient to store enough energy for long-distance travel. "It's difficult to say when plug-in hybrids could be commercialized, since it would depend largely on advances in battery technology," said Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto, in charge of Toyota's powertrain technology, told a news conference. The Toyota Plug-in HV, which is due to be tested also in the United States and Europe, has a cruising range of just 13 km (8 miles) on one charge, even with its trunkful of batteries.
GM in January showed a concept version of the plug-in Chevrolet Volt that would be powered by a lithium-ion battery. Ford has said plug-ins could enter showrooms in five to 10 years. Toyota, which launched the world's first mass-volume gasoline-electric hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997, said it would test eight prototypes of the plug-in hybrid to gather data on real-life driving over the next three years after gaining government approval on Wednesday. T), are working with Japanese battery makers to develop next-generation lithium-ion batteries with improved capacity to store energy.
The vehicle, certified for public road-use by Japan's Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport, is able to travel at a maximum speed of 100km (62 miles) per hour and Toyota estimates the vehicle to run 13km (8 miles) under electric vehicle mode by charging three to four hours with an ordinary electric wall socket.
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