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2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Launches, But You Can't Buy One Now

 
8 2,574 views December 3, 2009

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

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Hybrid and plug-in fans, not to mention the Prius faithful, have been eagerly waiting for Toyota's response to the reams of copy benerated by the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.

Surely Toyota, which invented the modern hybrid vehicle and has now built 1.5 million Toyota Prius models since 1997, wouldn't let itself be leapfrogged by General Motors?

Prius Plug-In Hybrid a go

Well, the 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid is now ready to go.

Toyota had officially unveiled the plug-in Prius at September's Frankfurt Motor Show, but the first U.S. showing of the final model came at this week's Los Angeles Auto Show.

Toyota will start offering Prius Plug-In Hybrids early next year. But the company won't be offering them to you.

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept

Enlarge Photo

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

Enlarge Photo

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show

Enlarge Photo

Select fleet partners

Of just 150 Prius Plug-In Hybrids destined for the U.S., exactly none will go to retail consumers. They're all destined for fleets, which Toyota terms "select partners," as part of a long process of "market/consumer analysis and technical demonstration" of plug-in vehicles.

This month, just slightly before the U.S. models arrive, Toyota will deliver the first of 350 more Prius Plug-In Hybrids to business and government partners in Europe and Japan. Again, regular consumer buyers are locked out.

Goal: Gather real-world data

Toyota's goal in testing this small number of plug-in Prius cars is to gather real-world data on how and where users plug them in, how often the cars run on electricity alone, and how much they revert to "hybrid mode" and run just like a regular, non-plug-in Prius.

The 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid is the company's first tentative step into the world of plug-in vehicles. The company claims it runs up to 13 miles and can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour on electric power.

Compared to battery electric vehicles without gasoline engines, Toyota says, electric running on short trips and hybrid opeation thereafter"alleviates the issue of limited cruising range" caused by lengthy recharge times.

Bigger battery and lithium-ion too

The 2010 Prius Plug-In Hybrid uses a lithium-ion pack with more energy capacity than a standard 2010 Prius: roughly 4 kilowatt-hours as compared to the standard nickel-metal-hydride pack's 1.6 kWh.

Toyota has only committed to building 500 Prius Plug-In Hybrids. But in the meantime, Prius owners and enthusiasts will soon exceed that number of plug-in Prius hybrids modified with third-party conversion kits.

Extreme caution

The company is being extremely cautious on progressing beyond the Hybrid Synergy Drive system used in its many hybrid models.

The company has built approximately two-thirds of all the hybrids on the road globally, but none of them plug into the electric grid to recharge their battery packs.





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Comments (8)

  1. By Khadgars Posted: 12/3/2009 2:30pm PST

    Toyota is finding its self behind the 8 ball in this game. Of course we don't really know, but all indications point to the plug-in prius at around $45k with only 12 miles of electric range. In the end I don't see how they will compete with the Volt in 3-5 years.
     
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  2. By Ugly Posted: 12/6/2009 6:30am PST

    Not just the Volt.... the Prius struggles to meet the economy figures of even the Euro Focus Econetic (diesel) and the Euro VW Golf Bluemotion (diesel)... as well as the driving experience of their Euro rivals.
    But my favourite is the 2011 BMW 5-series 520d (it's predecessor beat the previous Pruis in an economy test)
    Although rumour has it the Japanese government funded the first Prius, toyota has not really made that much gains recently
    The fact that North Americans hates diesels is really their loss!
     
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  3. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 12/12/2009 5:45am PST

    @Ugly: You might find this article of interest, then ...
    http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1039689_why-cant-we-buy-small-european-diesels-in-the-u-s
     
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  4. By  micro sd Posted: 12/19/2009 1:22am PST

    Hybrid and plug-in fans, not to mention the Prius faithful, have been eagerly waiting for Toyota's response to the reams of copy benerated by the 2011 Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.
     
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  5. By Ugly Posted: 12/20/2009 4:10am PST

    @John Voelcker
    What the car makers say! The (American) car makers are wrong! …and it may be in their interests to say that because they do not have the current German diesel technology of your forefathers, Herr Voelcker, and thus would not be able to compete.
    I think most of my points I would have made have been covered by the comments to your aforementioned post!
    (Note: In the UK(which is in Europe), diesel is more expensive than gasoline!)
    Besides, you may be interesting in this:
    http://www.netcarshow.com/bmw/2011-5-series/1024x768/wallpaper_07.htm
    Wouldn’t you rather be driving a vehicle like this, rather than a hybrid? (2011 520d)
    Better driving pleasure and better economy certainly on highway driving! As, as I mentioned before, the previous 520d beat the previous Prius in an economy test!
     
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  6. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 1/9/2010 5:54am PST

    @Ugly: Let's leave my forefathers out of this, shall we?
    If you read the post I pointed you to, you saw that current European diesels--including the BMW 520d--do not meet U.S. emissions standards. Hence, they could not be sold here even if the makers chose to.
    BMW does sell its 335d here, using expensive additional aftertreatment, as you probably know. They sold exactly 1,656 last year, or less than 2 percent of 3-Series sales. See here for a full rundown of the numbers:
    http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1041254_green-car-sales-winners-and-losers-of-2009
     
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  7. By  New cars for sale Posted: 1/20/2010 1:07am PST

    These cars for sale are defonatly the future car that we have been waiting for. I have seen alot of new cars for sale that are eco friendly but there is no such thing is there. All sources of transport damage the environment one way or another. Credit to toyota as they are making great steps into the future to help with the eco situation that we are in.
     
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  8. By  Own a Car Posted: 2/12/2010 1:00pm PST

    A solid first step towards testing and implementing PHEV technology. I bet with a bit more tweaking to the HSD system Toyota can squeak out even more efficiency. If I owned one of these I'd almost never have the ICE on since I drive less than 14 miles/day. However I don't think I could stay under 62mph easily :)
     
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