Toyota Testing Out Plug-In Prius Models
You're reading Toyota Testing Out Plug-In Prius Models, posted on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pm in News, Prius, on BrainBloggers at the Toyota blog. More after the jump.
Toyota announced this week that they will be testing a plug0in version of their Prius hatchback model in the UK. Toyota will be partnering up with EDF Energy – an electricity generator supplier in Britain – to help produce plug-in versions of the Prius.
Each car will be driven by employees from EDF Energy and then evaluated in several real-world conditions. These modified plug-in Prius model have the ability to be charged at a standard electrical outlet or at any of the 40 charging posts set up in the UK. EDF will be deploying these charging posts in the coming months.
Supplemented by the periodic charges these plug-in Priuses will be able to travel farther on electric-only power, eliminating the use of the petrol engine completely for short trips. Toyota is claiming that for trips less than 25km, the plug-in Prius will use roughly 60 per cent less fuel than the current people’s champion of green, the standard Toyota Prius hybrid.
The test is currently UK only but, with the American public clamouring for ever thriftier vehicles, there’s little doubt that there will be a plug-in Prius available in the future. Whether it makes it down under is another question altogether.