News
Toyota Starts Road Tests of Plug-In Hybrids in U.K.
LONDON — Toyota and British company EDF Energy have announced the kickoff of road tests in the United Kingdom to evaluate the automaker's plug-in hybrid prototypes. The U.K. is the fifth nation to host such tests, following testing that started last year in Japan, the United States, France and Belgium.
Among the yearlong test's objectives: letting EDF Energy figure out how to set up the required infrastructure of charging sites to make the plug-in hybrids a viable product for mass marketing. Toyota and EDF Energy will also evaluate the vehicles' performance and "ease of use" and survey the people who test-drive the vehicles — who will be EDF employees. EDF plans to set up 40 charging stations, mainly in the greater London area.
The vehicle being tested has a nickel metal hydride battery and is considered to be a successor to the popular Prius hybrid. Toyota notes that it's also working on the technology for lithium-ion battery vehicles and will be selling that type of hybrid vehicle to fleet customers in the U.S., Europe and Japan by the end of 2009.
Toyota isn't the only company looking to the U.K. to move forward on hybrid development. Daimler is road-testing some 100 Smart all-electric plug-in hybrids in London, the Financial Times reported. Daimler has also announced it will set up 500 electric-vehicle charging stations in Berlin by the end of next year.
What this means to you: The electric-car era is coming closer and closer. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Among the yearlong test's objectives: letting EDF Energy figure out how to set up the required infrastructure of charging sites to make the plug-in hybrids a viable product for mass marketing. Toyota and EDF Energy will also evaluate the vehicles' performance and "ease of use" and survey the people who test-drive the vehicles — who will be EDF employees. EDF plans to set up 40 charging stations, mainly in the greater London area.
The vehicle being tested has a nickel metal hydride battery and is considered to be a successor to the popular Prius hybrid. Toyota notes that it's also working on the technology for lithium-ion battery vehicles and will be selling that type of hybrid vehicle to fleet customers in the U.S., Europe and Japan by the end of 2009.
Toyota isn't the only company looking to the U.K. to move forward on hybrid development. Daimler is road-testing some 100 Smart all-electric plug-in hybrids in London, the Financial Times reported. Daimler has also announced it will set up 500 electric-vehicle charging stations in Berlin by the end of next year.
What this means to you: The electric-car era is coming closer and closer. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Add A Comment »