Hybrid News

Original post by ntguru

Original post by highside

Filed under: Hybrid, Manufacturing/Plants, Toyota, Green Daily, Japan

Toyota has announced that all of its 12 production plants in Japan will be shut down for 11 days in February and March thanks to the recent sales drop. Toyota sold about 20,000 fewer Priuses in 2008 than in 2007. According to Automotive News Europe (subs req’d), Toyota already reduced the number of vehicles it will build this business year by almost a million units and this round of closures means there will be even fewer Toyota’s built in the coming year. The last time all Japanese Toyota plants were shut at the same time was in 1993. Considering that all Priuses are made in Japan (that Mississippi Prius plant never got off the ground), the Prius supply will be reduced over the 11 days of quiet. The big question is if it’ll be down enough to meet demand without excess.

[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req’d), AP]

Toyota halts all Japanese production - that means the Prius, too - for 11 days originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Sebastian Blanco

Let’s get real folks

I’ve pretty much had it with the EV1, GM killed the electric car, folks.

Did GM kill the electric car? Shut up.

Every automaker is working on an electric car today. No one killed the electric car. Cheap gas, however, delayed the emergence of the electric car.

Did GM screw up the EV1 program? Absolutely, but without much higher gas prices, how many EV1’s could GM really have sold, especially if they sold them at real world cost? Honestly, 5 years ago, how many would have paid $40,000+ for a two-seat vehicle with 100 mile range and 6 hour charge requirements?

Certainly, some would have, but the EV1 would never have achieved the economies of scale to achieve profitability. NEVER. And, for GM haters, even Toyota has publicly stated that it could never achieve profitability on NiMH-powered EVs.

Nonetheless, could GM have parlayed the E͝ into 10,000 units a year and lots of positive green press? Yes. But, what would that have really changed? Ultimately, it would have just greenwashed the fact that gas-guzzlers were still GM’s bread and butter.

If GM made a big mistake, in my opinion, it was that it didn′t convert its E͝ experience into a Prius-like hybrid to help further develop battery technology while addressing fuel economy immediately. Yet, how much would a Prius-like hybrid have really helped GM? After 10 years of Prius production, it is unlikely that Toyota has yet recovered its total Prius investment.

Does that absolve GM’s mistakes? Hell no, but let’s keep some perspective people.

And, most important, the E͝ DOES NOT prove that NiMH batteries could now be powering the Chevy Volt. The E͝ had 100 miles of range, then required a 6 hour charge. The Chevy Volt, when not powered by grid electricity, uses electricity created by on-board generator. That means the Volt might go 500 miles without stopping, plugging into the grid, etc. Yet, for that entire 500 miles, the Volt will be relying on its battery pack as electricity always powers the Volt.

When did the E͝ ever go 500 miles without multiple charges? That’s right, never. Not even close.

Inevitably, the battery requirements of the Volt and the EV1 are vastly different - it’s apples to oranges - especially when you’re going to offer a 10 year warranty on the battery pack.

Furthermore, as a consumer, if you could buy a 100 mile range EV1 for the same price as a Volt with unlimited range, which would you buy?

Yet, if gas prices are below $3.00, even the Volt won′t really help GM much, and full electrification will still be decades away. So, if you want to get angry about the killing of the electric car, get mad at GM’s lobbyists. Get made at your Congressperson. And, if you want to get really crazy, tell your representatives in Washington that you want higher gas taxes.

Original post by Dahcredyns

The good ole days, at least for hybrid sellers

Change. Talk about what a difference a few months makes.

Just six months, you couldn’t find a Toyota Prius on a dealer lot. In December, however, Prius sales fell 45 percent according to the AP. But it isn’t just hybrid cars that are getting hit hard, but fuel efficiency in general, as Toyota and Honda posted bigger sales declines than their US competitors.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Plenty of supply now

Hybrid cars and electric vehicles. They are the future, right?

Sure, I think even hybrid haters accept the reality of the electrification of the automobile, but when will the majority of vehicles sold in America be electric?

Not for decades, at least in America, if fuel prices don’t rise significantly. Instead, for decades, such vehicles will be a minor niche.

In November, hybrid sales were down 50 percent, as trucks and SUVs regained some market share. How bad will sales be this month when automakers release their monthly sales? I don’t know, but I drove by my local Toyota dealer yesterday. With dozens of Prius hybrids on the lot, an even bigger crash in hybrid sales wouldn’t be surprising.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Blue man group hypes the Prius

There is a YouTube video featuring the Blue Man Group and the new Toyota Prius. The video isn′t terribly exciting, but if you are wondering what new features the third generation Prius will offer, the video does provide some insight. I think it looks great, but I don′t think Toyota is striving to sell the cheapest hybrid. And, ultimately, the Prius is still about fuel economy, so the EPA’s new rating might be what most are waiting to learn.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Original post by bwilsoѐweb

Not the year of the hybrid

Six months ago, one might have speculated that 2009 would be the year that hybrid cars forever changed the auto industry. It’s not just that hybrids were selling for thousands above MSRP six months ago thanks to high gas prices, but that 2009 would also see the launch of the new Honda Insight and the third generation Toyota Prius.

Yet, as we head into 2009 the hype around these two significant hybrid launches has been squashed. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Toyota push back the launch of the new Prius until as close to 2010 as possible.

With a crappy economy and falling gas prices, hybrid sales appear on track for a record year in 2009. Unfortunately, the record will be for biggest year-to-year sales decline.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Hybrid, Toyota, Green Daily, USA

As anyone who watches the evening news would already know, the East Coast States have been hit hard with horrible winter weather over the last week or so. This snowy pounding has revealed a new use for the Toyota Prius, or likely any hybrid that recharges its batteries with its internal combustion engine. John Sweeney, a resident of Harvard, Massachusetts, lost power to his home for three whole days. That all sounds horrible, especially in such awful weather. Fortunately, Sweeney came up with a novel way to use his hybrid car by connecting a power inverter to his Prius’ battery and using the hybrid as a generator. According to reports, Mr. Sweeney was able to run “his refrigerator, freezer, TV, woodstove fan and several lights through his Prius, for three days, on roughly five gallons of gas.” We imagine that proponents for a future electrical grid that gets power from hybrid and electric cars during peak hours are quietly smiling to themselves. Thanks for the tip, Corey!

[Source: New York Times via The College Driver]

Prius generates power in Massachusetts snowstorm originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Original post by bwilson4web

Filed under: Hybrid, Manufacturing/Plants, Toyota

Toyota is often seen as the automaker that can do no wrong, but the giant Japanese company has just released official sales and profit data for the year that’s ending, and it’s not all roses. Amazingly, 2008 will mark Toyota’s first-ever annual operating loss since the brand’s inception. Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe calls these times “an unprecedented emergency,” and “a crisis unlike the crises of the past.” This just one year after issuing the company’s largest profit ever last year. Things have apparently gotten so bad that the automaker has - and we’re not making this up - unplugged its electric hand dryers.

What does this mean for such popular picks as the hybrid Toyota Prius? We’ve already reported that the automaker will postpone the opening of its plant in Mississippi that was slated to assemble the Prius in the US, but Toyota’s profit warnings affect much more than just that one plant. When it’s all said and done, Toyota’s goal is to assemble 60 percent of the cars for the US market right here in the States. That figure dropped down to 55.2 percent last month, and it’s expected to drop further when the 2010 Prius gets up to full production capacity in Japan.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req′d]

Toyota in the red, won’t meet U.S. production levels originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Happy days for hybrid shoppers

Hybrid sales were down 50 percent in November, and they will probably be about the same in December. Likewise, gasoline prices are now averaging $1.66 per gallon. So, aside from economic problems, one can only assume gas prices are significantly contributing to the hybrid sales slide.

Yet, 2009 will see a number of new hybrid cars hitting the road, such as the Honda Insight and the third generation Toyota Prius. Hence, supply glut seems inevitable.

For shoppers of hybrid cars, happy days are coming.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Not to be built in America anytime soon

Sales of hybrid cars, just like conventional vehicles, are tanking. Add in a significant decline in gas prices, and declining hybrid interest shouldn’t surprise anyone. Thus, Toyota will delay the launch of a new US factory to build the Toyota Prius.

Original post by Dahcredyns

Original post by infael