Toyota has just released a new version of their car called the Prius. This new Prius Plug-In Hybrid can drive on electricity for more than 50% longer than the previous version, which was limited to only 25 miles. Toyota is working on making the future versions of this car have even more range.
This past Friday, Toyota’s chief technology officer, Hiroki Nakajima, said that the company wants to make plug-in hybrid cars that can drive more than 124 miles without needing gasoline. He didn’t say when this would happen or what type of testing it would take for them to achieve this distance.
Toyota wants people to use their plug-in hybrids as electric cars that can run on electricity most of the time. The purpose of having an internal combustion engine is so that you have a backup for trips that are too far or if you don’t have access to a place where you can charge up the car battery.
Toyota is working on new nuclear batteries for its electric cars that will come out in 2026. These batteries are expected to make the car travel twice as far as any of their current electric vehicles (EVs).
Toyota is working on a new type of battery called solid-state batteries. They think this kind of battery might be powerful enough to put in their long-range plug-in hybrids. Solid-state batteries can pack more power for their weight compared to other types of batteries, so they could give the car longer range.
At a presentation, Toyota announced that they would be seeking to make hydrogen-electric powertrains for commercial vehicles like trucks and buses. If there are places built to refuel these types of vehicles with hydrogen, then it would be much lighter than electric truck batteries and also take less time to refuel.