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Toyota dismisses range extender as "marketing"
Prius boss says next generation plug-in will have improved range, but will it outdo Volt?The development chief of the Toyota Prius has dismissed the term ‘range extender’ applied to the likes of the Chevrolet Volt as marketing spin for cars that are plug-in hybrids.
At the same time TMC deputy chief officer Satoshi Ogiso has promised the next Prius plug-in hybrid due in 2015 as part of a range overhaul will offer significantly improved performance as Toyota aims to lift the model’s sales share.
However he stopped short of committing the Prius plug-in to better electric vehicle mileage than the Volt, although he admitted that customers had identified more EV range as a priority.
"The Prius plug-in is maybe eight per cent of global [Prius] sales,” Ogiso said. "There is no official number to inform you for next generation of target share for plug-in hybrid [PHV], but we will try to expand the percentage. To do that we will improve PHV performance – for example the EV driving distance or maximum speed.”
At this stage there is no confirmation Toyota Australia will add the plug-in to its Australian Prius range, which already includes the petrol-electric hatchback, larger v and smaller c petrol-electric hybrids.
“Categorisation of 'range extender' is not an appropriate way of explanation [for] talking about plug-in hybrid,” said Ogiso. “It’s just a plug-in hybrid. Range extender is just some kind of marketing word or something.
“Volt has a rather longer driving range than our plug-in hybrid but [is] very weak at hybrid fuel efficiency... So toward next generation Prius plug-in, we will try to expand the pure electric driving range and at the same time improve hybrid-mode miles per gallon and hybrid-mode fuel efficiency.”
The Volt's petrol engine only directly drives the wheels at high speed. Normally it only runs to produce electricity when the battery pack depletes. GM pitches the Volt as an EV that eradicates range anxiety, hence the range extender tag.
The Volt, which is sold in Australia by Holden, combines a 63kW 1.4-litre petrol engine, two electric motors and 16.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack into a ‘Voltec’ drivetrain that according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can run up to 38 miles (61km) on electricity alone.
The current Prius plug-in combines a 73kW 1.8-litre Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine with one electric motor and a 4.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack into a ‘Hybrid Synergy Drive’ that the EPA awards an 11 mile (18km) electric range.
Once the battery’s storage is depleted, the Prius plug-in’s engine directly drives the front wheels, either in tandem with the electric motor or alone.
A comparison test in the US magazine Popular Mechanics found the Volt averaged 35mpg (6.7L/100km) in hybrid mode and the Prius 46.7mpg (5.03 L/100km).
Ogiso questioned whether ‘range extender’ drivetrains would gain popularity, pointing to the Prius' better fuel economy in hybrid mode.
“The USA interstate driving or the Europe inter-country driving is very frequent and popular in every region, so electric mode cannot last more than 100km. So both hybrid performance and hybrid efficiency and electric range [are] very important.”
To back up his argument Ogiso pointed to Audi’s decision to revert to an orthodox plug-in hybrid A3 e-tron for its first electric production vehicle when it had earlier shown an A1-based concept with a small range extender rotary engine.
Apart from the Volt, the only other range extender plug-in on-sale globally is the new BMW i3, although the defunct Fisker Karma – never sold in Australia – was also a range extender. Mitsubishi plans to bring its Outlander PHEV to market next year and Volvo Australia has long been toying with importing its V60 Plug-in Hybrid.
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Written byBruce Newton
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