Toyota won’t be opening a green Prius sub-brand

The UK managing director of Toyota, Miguel Fonseca, has told Autocar that it won’t be opening a green Prius sub-brand. But he did establish that a series of fresh Prius body styles are forthcoming, designed to support Toyota’s third-generation hybrid saloon when it goes on sale late in 2009. Although Fonseca will not provide confirmation for the body styles that can be expected, but Autocar comprehends that an estate variant is possible and that a hybrid MPV is most likely.

The stock variant of the succeeding Prius is scheduled to make its introduction at the Detroit motor show early next year, before becoming available for sale towards the last part of 2009. There won’t be any revelation of new body styles until late 2010 at the earliest. Talks about the succeeding Prius would adopt lithium-ion battery technology at some stage of its lifespan was overturned by Fonseca. Although he recognized that powerful, efficient lithium-ion batteries were a direction of the future, the engineers of Toyota do not believe they are currently efficient or durable enough to enter mass-production.
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truckman - 11/27/2008 4:44:44 AM

+3 Boost

90mpg, It sounds great but we all know it will never happen, just like it is supposed to acquire 60mpg now.lol What ever happened to making a safe car? This may be the most efficient car that you can buy today, but no talk about them making this unsafe car safer! Economy is no# two behind safety to me.

XYZZ - 11/29/2008 6:32:20 AM

+1 Boost

WHAT makes you THINK they are unsafe?

friends who owned a prius got into a crash. altho' it was a HEAD-ON which totalled the car, he got out with barely a scratch.
wifey unfortunately got a broken clavicle. mainly just 'cuz she was dozing, didn't see the oncoming and was unable to brace herself. she was thrown against the shoulder belt at an odd angle, before being stopped by the airbag. also, she's 65+ and has fragile bones.

all of us who knew that couple, believe the car SAVED THEIR LIVES!

XYZZ - 11/29/2008 6:37:00 AM

+1 Boost

and it wasn't merely the airbags.

the car has well designed safety cage and energy absorbing crush zone. one front tire came almost right up to the firewall.

a friend took pics and closelly examinged the wreck at the salvage yard. said he found it hard to believe no one died, considering the energy expended and absorbed!

truckman - 12/1/2008 12:50:44 AM

+1 Boost

xyzz. the prius for 2008 got 4 stars and one or two? 5 stars crash results, not too bad just not the top in it's class. It could defiantly improve safety! It's incredible how people can survive such bad crashes, I am happy to hear your friends are ok.

tango - 11/27/2008 10:39:09 PM

+1 Boost

My problem with hybrids is two-fold. Firstly, very few manufacturers are talking about what will happen WHEN the batteries need replacing. By the time that happens the battery packs will be more expensive than what the car will be worth in many cases. Food for thought before purchase, especially used. The second problem I have is with the motors. Haven't we proven time and time again that electronics/electrics are the weakest link in the automotive chain? They burn out when overworked, and fail when they get wet. I live in a country that tends to have flooded roads quite a bit. Having electric motors outside in that sort of environment is asking for trouble.

XYZZ - 11/29/2008 6:45:36 AM

+1 Boost

NO ONE cares if YOU have a problem with hybrids.

toyota is selling every prius they bring over. and hope to be cranking 'em out right her in the u.s.

ryogajyc - 12/1/2008 2:44:37 PM

+1 Boost

tango,

I'd like to address your problems using the case of the Toyota Prius as an example.

1) Replacing the battery is an issue that very few people will encounter. You will more likely total the car than have to replace the battery. The reason for this is that the battery is not deep discharged (going from 100% state-of-charge to a very low state-of-charge). Instead, it is kept in the 40-80% state-of-charge range which puts very little wear and tear on the battery. The expected lifetime of the battery used this way will is greater than the expected lifetime of the rest of the car. Let's say you do have a problem with the battery pack. The battery is made of 38 cells, and failures are usually of a single cells which can be replaced individually. The entire battery pack costs ~$3000, so replacing a cell probably costs less than $200, comparable to your regular 12V car battery. Toyota will actually pay for battery pack in some cases, so they can get the failed part to analyze it b/c it happens so infrequently.

2) Internal combustion engines (ICE) will also not work when flooded. From a design standpoint, it is easier to make a electrical motor working in a wet situation, since an electric motor can be hermetically sealed, while a ICE cannot be hermetically sealed because it requires air.

XYZZ - 12/2/2008 5:46:41 AM

+1 Boost

further, electric motors tend to be more reliable and trouble-free than ICEs.

when was the last time you had to give your 'fridge motor a valve job or overhaul? or even a tune up?

in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car" there was a telling scene where the mechanic does the 50k mile(?) service, and doesn't even get his hands dirty!

add to this, that the ICE in the prius is a TOYOTA engine, and it's easy to imagine those cars will EASILY give 300,000+ trouble-free miles, just as every other toyota model easily exceeds 200,000 miles.