- Title: JAPAN: Toyota unveils what they say is the world's first plug-in hybrid car
- Date: 28th July 2007
- Summary: (L!3) TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 25, 2007) (REUTERS) ELECTRIC PLUG GOING INTO SOCKET MAN TAKING ELECTRIC CABLE AND PLUGGING INTO CAR MONITOR IN CAR SHOWING THE CAR BATTERY BEING CHARGED TEST DRIVER, TAKASHI KOJIMA, GETTING IN CAR PRIUS DRIVING OFF VARIOUS OF PRIUS DRIVING ON TEST RANGE CLOSE UP OF MONITOR SHOWING CAR RUNNING ON BATTERIES YOSHIKAZU TANAKA, CHIEF ENGINEER AT TOYOTA, PLUGGING IN CAR (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CHIEF ENGINEER AT TOYOTA YOSHIKAZU TANAKA SAYING: "As it runs on an external energy supply too, the car can use multiple sources of energy. The range of the EV (electric vehicle) has also been extended and will cut down on carbon dioxide emissions." CLOSE UP OF SIGN ON CAR READING IN ENGLISH "TOYOTA PLUG-IN HYBRID" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOYOTA TEST DRIVER TAKASHI KOJIMA SAYING: "The previous Prius' had some EV (electric vehicle) functions, but the thing about this one is that the driving distance is much longer." VARIOUS OF THE HYBRID PLUG-IN CAR ON TEST DRIVING RANGE
- Embargoed: 12th August 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Environment / Natural World,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA89U8D0URN34JH5TYDQ8KCD8LA
- Story Text: Automaker Toyota on Wednesday (July 25) unveiled what it said is the world's first certified plug-in and play car for public roads.
Certified by Japan's Transport Ministry, Toyota's prototype Plug-in HV (hybrid vehicle) Prius uses a gas-powered combustion engine and electric motor like earlier hybrids, but has a bigger capacity battery which enables it to run longer.
With top speeds of 100 kph or 64 mph and an electric motor range of 13 kilometres (8 miles), the Plug-in Prius is not yet a full electric vehicle, but Toyota's chief engineer says it will help cut down on carbon dioxide emissions.
"As it runs on an external energy supply too, the car can use multiple sources of energy. The range of the EV (electric vehicle) has also been extended and will cut down on carbon dioxide emissions," Yoshikazu Tanaka, Chief Engineer at Toyota Motors, said, at a test drive event in Japan.
"The previous Prius' had some EV (electric vehicle) functions, but the thing about this one is that the driving distance is much longer,"
added Toyota's test driver Takashi Kojima.
It takes this Prius three to four hours to fully recharge on a 100V current in Japan and the United States, but will take one to one and half hours with a European 200V current. A full charge is enough, some say, to drive the kids to school and back.
Toyota has plans to conduct U.S. and European road tests for the 1,500cc Plug-in and predicts that by 2020,100 percent of all its cars will be hybrids - either traditional or plug-ins.
The company has no immediate plans to market the Plug-in Prius until public road tests are finished, but is boosting overall hybrid production by 40 percent this year and plans to double the number of hybrid models within three years. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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