TOYOTA FT-EV CONCEPT IN DETROIT

TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION SAYS: Toyota is displaying the Toyota FT-EV concept at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), and confirmed its plan to launch an urban commuter battery-electric vehicle (BEV) by 2012.

The FT-EV concept, as well as the compressed natural gas powered Camry Hybrid concept display at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, signal Toyota’s intention to broaden the scope of its advanced alternative-fuel vehicle development.

The concept shares its platform with the revolutionary-new iQ urban commuter vehicle. Already a huge hit in Japan, the iQ is lightweight and seats four passengers in comfort and security, while delivering exceptional mileage, sporty performance, unique refinements and a fun, youthful image.

Toyota’s FT-EV concept imagines an urban dweller, driving up to 80 km between home, work and other forms of public transportation, such as high-speed rail. Although, for now, the FT-EV remains a pure concept, it represents a natural pairing of product strategies.

Although BEVs and new smaller vehicles like the iQ will be a key component of Toyota’s sustainable mobility strategy, the conventional petrol-electric hybrid, like the all new third-generation Prius, is considered Toyota’s long-term core powertrain technology.

Last year, Toyota announced that it planned to sell one million petrol-electric hybrids per year sometime during the early 2010s. To accomplish this, Toyota will launch as many as 10 new hybrid models by the early 2010s, in various global markets. The new third-generation Toyota Prius and all new Lexus HS250h, both debuting in Detroit, are the first two examples of that effort.

Also, last year, Toyota announced that it would roll-out a large number of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) to global lease-fleet customers in 2010. That schedule has been moved up. Beginning late this year, Toyota will start global delivery of 500 Prius PHVs powered by lithium-ion batteries. Of these initial vehicles, 150 will be placed with lease-fleet customers in the USA.

The first-generation lithium-ion batteries powering these PHVs will be built on an assembly line at Toyota’s PEVE (Panasonic EV Energy Company, Ltd) battery plant, a joint-venture production facility in which Toyota owns 60 percent equity. During its development, the new Prius was designed and engineered to package either the lithium-ion battery pack with plug-in capability, or the nickel-metal hydride battery for the conventional petrol-electric system.

The 500 PHVs arriving globally in late 2009 will be used for market and engineering analysis. Lease–fleet customers will monitor the performance and durability of the first-generation lithium-ion battery, while offering real world feedback on how future customers might respond to the plug-in process. This Prius PHV fleet programme is a key first step in confirming how and when Toyota might bring large numbers of plug-in hybrids to global markets.