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Toyota Vice President Says Electric Cars Are Too Expensive

 
1,467 views Sep 15, 2009

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept

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"Electric vehicles of today are less costly than in 1990s, but if you compare them with the other vehicles out there they are still too expensive."

Those were the words of Toyota Executive Vice President, Takeshi Uchiyamada, at the Frankfurt Motor Show which opened to the press today. "Unless there is a very big breakthrough in battery costs I don't think electric vehicles can take a large market share," he elaborated.

This comes shortly after a story published by Bloomberg about those very batteries. According to the report, Toyota has secretly been testing lithium-ion batteries in a fleet of Prius hatchbacks for the past three years. Their study concluded that the li-ion batteries are safe and reliable for automotive applications, and that they provide a small fuel economy benefit over currently used nickel-metal hydride packs.

This week, Toyota also unveiled a plug-in Prius hybrid, which would utilize li-ion technology and reportedly charge in just 90 minutes from a conventional household outlet. The plug-in will be leased for fleet use in early 2010. However, Japan's largest automaker has no plans to switch technologies completely, as they've invested heavily in nickel-metal hydride and they say the additional costs of li-ion batteries often outweigh the benefits.

A low cost, long-range, fast-charging battery is still the holy grail of the electric vehicle movement, and while plug-in hybrids and EVs continue to garner public interest, the developments in battery technology alluded to by Uchiyamada are likely the governing factor in mass market adoption.

Sources: CNET, Autoguide, Bloomberg





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Comments (8)

  1. By Jason M. Hendler Posted: 9/15/2009 11:19am PDT

    To an extent, he is correct, which is why automakers must select a configuration that minimizes battery costs / size / weight, while providing all the utility of a normal car. Toyota has the Prius hybrid and plugin hybrid, which requires batteries. GM has the Volt.
     
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  2. By Rick Posted: 9/15/2009 1:52pm PDT

    Batteries are expensive, but so are "options". Dispense with useless options, and it is possible to build a sub $20,000 100 mile electric car right now. That is not expensive.
    Take a $10,000 Accent, add a $10,000 battery and we have an electric vehicle for about $20,000. The cost of an electric drive train is probably less than that of an internal combustion engine. $20,000 is less than many compact cars having useless things like alloy wheels, foglamps, and talking computers.
     
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  3. By omnimoeish Posted: 9/15/2009 10:47pm PDT

    Whether Toyota does it or not, Nissan and Ford will be doing it at the very least, and literally dozens of other auto makers, some small and some big, will be doing it. I totally agree with Jason, even a 12 mile AER would cut gas consumption down by 1/2 - 3/4th and would be worth the extra cost
    I think with a 5 kWh NiMH (don't use short lived Lithium ion yet) battery instead of the .6 kWh or whatever they currently use and add an extension cord, make the motor a little bigger, done! Even if all that costs you $6-7,000, the subsidies will drop that premium in half and then the gas savings will pay for the premium in just a year or two. Why is this so hard to understand?
     
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  4. By Alec Posted: 9/16/2009 1:40am PDT

    Omnimoeish is right....maybe Toyota got sweet deal from the Oil industry , but there are other constructors as well that could turn the tide , as wel.....and they could capitalize on Toyota unwillingness or incapability to move towards pure EV, just as Toyota gained on American car manufacturers by going Hybrid.....if Leaf , I-Miev and Zenn will prove a success , than Toyota is history.....natural selection.......and if EESTORE is real , then bye-bye oil indstry in just a decade....
     
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  5. By Desertstraw Posted: 9/16/2009 1:46am PDT

    Toyota is playing a very strange game. They know very well that electric vehicles are feasible at a reasonable price because they sold them. The Toyota RAV4 Electrics are still on the road in California. Southern California Edison has a fleet of them and has reportedly extended their range to 150 miles. They use NiMH batteries which have lasted for over 100,000 miles of trouble free performance.
    The conditions of the settlement between Toyota and Chevron, who owned the NiMH patent at the time, which stopped the production of electric cars by Toyota have never been made public.
    It has been suggested that Toyota prefers hybrids like the Prius which brings lots of expensive repair and maintenance business to its dealers. One reason that traditional auto makes may not want electric cars is that they make dealerships superfluous and virtually eliminate auto mechanics. Wal-Mart and similar stores could sell them just like computers or refrigerators. They are take home, plug in, and forget about it.
     
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  6. By hsr0601 Posted: 9/16/2009 9:46pm PDT

    It is firmly believed with the help of "instant remote recharge" , called "revalution" , by Indian EV maker Reva and a pioneer Agassi and so forth, the EV world has dawned a brand new morn for all around the world to live in peace and harmony.
     
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  7. By JohnQPublic Posted: 9/19/2009 8:40am PDT

    In response to Desertstraw:
    No, the Prius does not bring "lots of expensive repair" to the dealerships. The Prius maintenance cost is VERY low.
    The Prius transmission has just 22 moving parts, no clutch, no torque converter, no CVT belts, no gear-shifting wear-and-tear. More reliable than a regular-car tranny with over 100 moving parts.
    The Prius has no timing belt, no alternator, no starter motor, no solenoid to wear out and need repair.
    The Prius uses regenerative braking, which saves brake pad wear tremendously-- The brake pads don't need replacement until well over 100,000 miles. Try that in a regular car and see what happens.
    Because the engine isn't running all the time the car is in operation, the engine experiences less heat stress, which means the coolant lasts 8 years.
    Frankly, after being spoiled by the low maintenance costs of the Prius, I'm NEVER going back to a regular car.
    Considering that the hybrid system is warrantied for up to 10 years / 150,000 miles, the dealership wouldn't make a single dime replacing warrantied hybrid parts in any case.
    As far as sticking with NiMH batteries go, remember the Cobasys patent on large-format NiMH batteries will be expiring soon, which will allow Toyota to use them for PHEVs at significant lower costs than Lion batteries.
     
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  8. By  Doug Korthof Posted: 9/21/2009 9:44am PDT

    If EVs are too expensive, then fuel-cell cars are even worse! What Toyota is saying is that they don't want to build non-polluting cars, they only want to build a hundred or so outrageously expensive Lithium or Fuel Cell cars, but never make them available for sale.
    Yet we drive all-electric EVs every day, powered by our rooftop solar system; the only thing stopping other solar homes from driving on their own sunlight is that there are no plug-in cars for sale any more.
     
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