Fleet Testing of Plug-In Prius Moved Up - August 29th, 2008
At the same time that Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe was announcing lowered sales forecasts for the automotive giant through 2009, he also released info that fleet testing for the Plug-in Prius has been moved up a year. No doubt, the two are related. Even though Toyota is still locked in a race with General Motors to be the largest automotive manufacturer in the world, they’re feeling the effects of lowered U.S. sales where the company emphasized trucks and SUVs. In our new reality of high gas prices and growing environmentalism, those form factors are not just unpopular, they’re too darn expensive to feed.
The first official announcement of a plug-in Prius came at this year’s Detroit Auto Show where Watanabe said they were to be delivered to government and commercial fleets in 2010 to be field tested. Now the target date is early 2009 with the hope of having several hundred on the road by the end of the year. Still no word on a retail time table, a decision dependent on safety and reliability assessments of the lithium ion batteries. There’s every indication, however, that Toyota is fast-tracking their plug-in as part of an overall shifting of corporate footing to get beyond their current earnings challenges.
That’s actually a win/win for everyone. With the presidential candidates (or at least one of them) ready to talk turkey about ending American oil dependence, it’s time for carmakers to put up the goods to help make that a reality. The Prius has been the darling of the hybrid world and is in prime position to become the first widely adopted plug-in.
Posted on August 29th, 2008 by Shorty
Filed under: technology, alternative fuels |
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