The interesting thing about the Toyota iQ electric car
2 degress of hybrid seperation?
EVs and hybrids sitting in a tree
With just 65 miles of EV range, the tiny iQ plug-in electric subcompact seems completely underwhelming. Compared to the compact Nissan Leaf, for instance, the iQ isn’t just smaller, but it offers less range. Smaller and less range just doesn’t seem to be the winning formula for plug-in penetration. Then again, such a formula probably offers a nice price advantage.
But it’s still early in the plug-in game. Anything is still possible. Thus, it’s the relationship between the iQ and the Toyota Prius that is most compelling today.
Already, the Prius has become a mainstream vehicle, although the hybrid segment is still just a niche segment. Nevertheless, that means the Prius has helped Toyota achieve a level of volume that provides a serious competitive edge. But this edge isn’t just about hybrid cars. The Prius has helped develop both battery electric and fuel cell technologies as well, resulting in a massive amount of patent filings.
For Toyota, hybrid cars are not a pure interim technology. Regarding the iQ, for instance, MotorTrend notes, “Toyota didn’t have to look far for the technology and adapted its Hybrid Synergy Drive to propel the iQ EV with pure electricity.”
So technologies in the HSD are also critical to Toyota’s electric cars and fuel cell cars? That’s my take.
While many in the battery world claim that battery volume is not yet critical to reducing the costs of electric vehicles as breakthroughs are still required, other EV components are today scalable. Consequently, if Toyota can share many electrification components amongst hybrids, battery electrics and fuel cell vehicles, they are already a step ahead of the pack, even though others jumped into the plug-in market first.
Well, Toyota has had a fleet of plug-in hybrids on the road for many years now. Their stance has been the vehicles simply aren’t going to be cost-effective for consumers. Ultimately, building the cars isn’t the problem, nor is their reliability – again, Toyota has had many plug-ins testing in the real world for many years now, and they claim there have been no major problems.
Toyota has stated numerous times that the battery technology just isn’t yet there. Based on their experience selling hybrids, Toyota doesn’t believe that there is a very big market for plug-ins and the only reason Toyota is going to sell plug-ins is because other automakers are doing so.
Still, neither GM nor Nissan are living up to their production forecasts so far. So did these automakers rush? Without question, GM did and their effort was impressive. Still, it doesn’t appear that either automaker was really ready for launch, otherwise their production numbers would be up to speed.
Now what happens if an unforeseen glitch arises? The code powering these cars is very complex, especially in the Volt. Inevitably, bugs will arise. Will they be minor or severe? That remains to be seen. Toyota, typically, doesn’t rush into such ventures. Their kaizen-influenced production system favors constant, steady progress, not leapfrogs in technology.
I was thinking that Toyota had a huge head start on hybrid technology and probably was years ahead of GM in looking into converting the Prius into a plug-in especially since 3rd party shops were already doing it.
no?
I’m still wondering if the Prius Hybrid engine is a better candidate for converting to a plug-in that the Volt setup since the Volt is more hybrid than plug-in in some respects and it does not have the pure plug-in range disadvantage.
But all in all.. Toyota should have been years ahead of GM on the plug-in technology given their track record with hybrids.
If people are saying the Volt is years away from being cost-effective and Toyota has yet to put their entry out there… what does that mean?
If Toyota waits much longer , there are going to be a half dozen other manufacturers with plug-ins also, no?
I’m just trying to figure out what Toyota is doing (or not).
why would a plug-in prius blow away the Volt?
early adopters aren’t buying the most cost-effective plug-in solution, they are buying EV range, pro-American products, etc., etc.
According to the Obama task force that Volt won’t be profitable until well into the next decade, and that might not even include recovering development costs.
right now, on the other hand, the prius is profitable, consumer-friendly and cost-effective – according to the likes of Consumer Reports, JD Power and Intellichoice.
ultimately, plug-in success won’t be determined by fleets and early adopters, but by regular car shoppers and regular car shoppers think nothing like early adopters.
if what USB says is true then why hasn’t Toyota brought their plug-in to the market and blown away the Volt?
that’s the big puzzle here… Toyota ought to be the speer tip .. right?
usb-
oxford university did an interesting study validating your points regarding the efficiency of the prius phv. however, they also pointed out that hybrids like the prius offer more bang for the buck than any plug-in. still, plug-ins need to be part of the mix and I concur that Toyota seems to have the most intelligent plan forward.
Prius PHV intelligently selects the best combination of the two power sources (gas and electric) and everything is automatic.
By looking at the result (forget the operation modes), Prius PHV is 41% more efficient using electricity (per mile) than the Volt. 50 cordless MPG gas engine is also more efficient than Volt’s 37 MPG.
Prius PHV is simpler in term of hardware. Volt has three additional clutches and an extra coolant to change.
This iQ EV is supposed to have 65 miles range. It also should be affordable and complement the current cordless Prius owners.
” Keep your driving grandmotherly, though, and a Prius PHV with a full charge can travel up to 13 miles in electric mode, which becomes considerably more novel the faster one travels. Once the battery pack is depleted, the car reverts to the conventional hybrid function of the standard Prius.”
from a 2010 review of a plug-in Prius
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q2/2012_toyota_prius_plug-in_hybrid-first_drive_review
Have things changed since then?
Is the Prius Plug-in still supposed to make it’s debut in 2012 and has the range improved?
The review makes the Prius Plug-in sound similar (but different) to the Chevy Volt in terms of what happens after the battery conks out… i.e. “…. the car reverts to the conventional hybrid function of the standard Prius” which essentially is an optimized, “hybridized” ICE power plant.
The Prius uses the ICE to directly power the vehicle whereas the Volt uses the ICE to power the electric powerplant that in turn powers the vehicle.
I still can’t help but to wonder which of the two approaches – is …for want of a more precise term – “better” or perhaps more likely destined to go forward in the future.
The Prius configuration is very complex and requires a computer to sort out what needs to be done whereas the Chevy seems to be fairly simple… e.g. if the battery is dead – cue the ICE to generate more electricity – and that’s it.
how about some discussion of the relative merits of the Prius approach and the Volt approach in terms of simplicity and adaptability to other vehicles?
Making a car tinier just to claim a lower price seems pointless in the American market. After all, aren’t we the fatsos of the world now?
This car may be good for high schoolers, some college kids, and midgets living in the city, but for a family of four (I’m betting that pic is Photoshopped, big time), it just isn’t going to work.