Toyota promises plug-in hybrid by 2010

[Eric Nothman]

Toyota is now promising a plug-in by 2010 for leasing customers (previously it was for fleets), stating it will be introduced in U.S., Japan, and Europe. Lithium Ion batteries in 2009 with full scale ramp up in 2010. Toyota promises plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010 - USATODAY.com

[Rybold]

It says "which can be recharged from a home electrical outlet, will target leasing customers, Toyota said."

Why leasing customers? Is this Toyota, or GM?

Hey, looking at the bright side though, "Toyota promises plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010." Awesome!


"The joint venture that Toyota set up with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic products, will begin producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 and move into full-scale production in 2010, Toyota said."

"On Tuesday, Toyota said it will start making the Camry hybrid in Australia and Thailand as part of its efforts to step up production of "green" cars around the world."

[joe1347]

Originally Posted by Eric Nothman

Toyota is now promising a plug-in by 2010 for leasing customers (previously it was for fleets), stating it will be introduced in U.S., Japan, and Europe. Lithium Ion batteries in 2009 with full scale ramp up in 2010. Toyota promises plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010 - USATODAY.com

Unlike GM, Toyota appears to understand that making the jump to plug-in hybrids will require incremental steps due the high cost of the the battery back until production ramps up. GM seems to be going down the all or nothing plug-in only path (with the Volt) where the only decent hybrid from GM will be too expensive for mass acceptance and sales won't be large enough for economies of scale to gradually kick in. Of course, GM will then proclaim. See - hybrid technology is just too expensive. So buy a Camaro instead.

Edited to add: Hopefully I'm wrong about the Volt and it sells for less than $30K on day one - without subsidies. Maybe A123Systems can pull it off (for GM).

[CAPTAIN_JAMES]

Originally Posted by joe1347

Unlike GM, Toyota appears to understand that making the jump to plug-in hybrids will require incremental steps due the high cost of the the battery back until production ramps up. GM seems to be going down the all or nothing plug-in only path (with the Volt) where the only decent hybrid from GM will be too expensive for mass acceptance and sales won't be large enough for economies of scale to gradually kick in. Of course, GM will then proclaim. See - hybrid technology is just too expensive. So buy a Camaro instead.

Edited to add: Hopefully I'm wrong about the Volt and it sells for less than $30K on day one - without subsidies. Maybe A123Systems can pull it off (for GM).

What does GM do when they shoot them selfs in the foot, (EV1)? They change feet.

[KAR IDEA]

I'm with Rybold...it's great that a Toyota PHEV is going to be available in 2010, but if I'm interpreting this correctly, only to leasing customers. I'm sure there is a good reason for this..guess we will find out more as time goes by...

[narf]

OK, I'm making a guess here, but....
When GM released the EV1, it was available as a lease only. Wasn't that because the batteries were so expensive to make that the only way they could make the car affordable was to retain ownership of the batteries? Could Toyota be using the same financial model for their LiOn batteries? Perhaps they are feeling a bit rushed to market by the Volt and are releasing the car before they have a decent financial model in place.

[burritos]

Originally Posted by narf

OK, I'm making a guess here, but....
When GM released the EV1, it was available as a lease only. Wasn't that because the batteries were so expensive to make that the only way they could make the car affordable was to retain ownership of the batteries? Could Toyota be using the same financial model for their LiOn batteries? Perhaps they are feeling a bit rushed to market by the Volt and are releasing the car before they have a decent financial model in place.

Then they should offer the lease and the buy option. If the buy option doesn't make sense vs the lease, then people will just lease. But if people want to pay a premium to own, whether the payback time makes sense or not, then that should be up to them.

[PriusSport]

I wonder if plug-ins will be that popular--unless gas is about $8 a gallon. At $4-6, most people would be satisfied with a 50 mpg hybrid like the Prius. That assumes the car price stays in the mid-20s. There are a lot of people without garages who might find overnight charging an inconvenience. And then you have the problem of extended trips.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by Eric Nothman

Toyota is now promising a plug-in by 2010 for leasing customers (previously it was for fleets), stating it will be introduced in U.S., Japan, and Europe. Lithium Ion batteries in 2009 with full scale ramp up in 2010. Toyota promises plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2010 - USATODAY.com

Ahh I wouldn't be too ecstatic if I were you.

"Leasing customers". The way I read it, it means power companies, government bodies and so forth. It's not for the general public is the way I interpret "leasing customers".

[FBear]

GM is counting on their lobby down in Washington D.C. to get them the $7K rebate for both the customer and GM alike, so the reVolt is affordable.