Detroit – Detroit In presenting its Prius c, commercial version, and NS4 sedan, prototype version, Toyota has reiterated his faith in its hybrid technology has simultaneously present and future-oriented. The Japanese manufacturer believes that this approach will pay. Explanations.
The little Prius c she differs from her big sisters Prius and Prius v? Beyond its size and subcompact market that is, the answer is no. Less powerful than the current Prius, it uses a gasoline engine 1.5 L four-cylinder and an electric motor – smaller than the Prius – from 144 volts, equivalent to 100 horsepower. Above all, as the Prius, it uses a rechargeable nickel metal hydride, not lithium-ion, as is the technology trend of the market. Toyota is it new out of old?
“With our non-pluggable hybrids, we are still working with the nickel metal hydride battery. One can find enough capacity and power without using the lithium-ion battery. We have no space constraint in the car. And lithium battery is more expensive. For us, it is still a powerful battery, “said John-Paul Faragher, technology and consulting engineer advanced powertrain at Toyota.
Accordingly, the bill is a little less salt to the consumer. C The Prius will be sold in Canada in the spring at an initial price below $ 21 000. And promises an average consumption of 3.7 L/100 km.
The midsize sedan unveiled at Detroit NS4 is against a prototype plug-in hybrid, which is the next generation of Toyota’s hybrid system. A set of “smaller, lighter, cheaper and more powerful.” What it has under the hood exactly? Lips are sealed by the technicians.
The NS4 is nonetheless a beautiful exercise in style that Toyota we had not used before. His marketing is planned for 2015.
Hydrogen has a future
It was during this same year 2015 that should be launched electric sedan powered by hydrogen. Just as some major manufacturers, Toyota is committed to market a vehicle of its kind in four years. “We still believe in hydrogen, we have a lot of work, justifies Mr. Faragher. There are a lot of potential with hydrogen because of the autonomy it provides (note: approximately 400 km).
And there may be regions in the world who are involved in hydrogen. We must therefore have different technologies for different markets. We want to be prepared with different technologies in the event that one is growing faster than the other. ”
Toyota believes in spite of the potential security issues, clean production and the high cost of distribution infrastructure specific to this choice.
“There are still many limitations with the all-electric. For the mass market, the future direction logic is the hybrid, “said Mr. Faragher.
But immediately, there is a difficulty. Asked by Self on the arrival of this competition which is the Toyota Prius c, the vice-president of Honda Canada, Jerry Chenkin, ardor has cooled some, “It is a good thing if it increases awareness public against hybrids.
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