Featured Threads Archive

For China.
Toyota And BYD Agree To Establish EV R&D Joint Venture

Press release - BYD Company Ltd. (BYD) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced on 7Nov2019 that they have signed an agreement to establish a joint company (I assume in China) to research and development for battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

BYD, Toyota Agree to Establish Joint Company for Battery Electric Vehicle Research and Development | Corporate | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website

And the startup is affiliated with Workhorse.
GM just sold its Lordstown plant to an EV startup affiliated with Workhorse - Electrek

It appears that, from today, the refreshed C-HR with the Hybrid 2.0 powertrain 135 KW (184 hp), the same on the Corolla, can be ordered, at least here in Europe.



It also appears that in some markets (e.g., Italy) the C-HR can now be only ordered with the Hybrid 2.0 powertrain. The 1.8 that powers the Prius? Gone. They were selling lot of these in Europe (1.8H C-HR), btw.

Given that they published third quarter financial results with increased revenues and profits, under a global demand slowdown for vehicles and the strengthening of the Yen (that slows down exports), Toyota might be selling a lot of hybrids (which they are also pricing higher, with respect to the old non-hybrid versions of the same cars).
Well, at least here, almost all the vehicles they are now selling are hybrid-only, and it's several years already that the Lexus line is 100% hybrid.

They also finalized a joint venture with BYD, apparently (lot of news today ); who...

“We forecast EVs and hybrids – such as the Toyota Prius – will reach 20% and 30% of global penetration rates respectively by 2030.”


Which Regions are Driving the Electric Vehicle Trend? | Morningstar

Infiniti bets its future on electric cars–and hybrid tech it hasn’t yet named



It appears to be based on Nissan’s e-Power series-hybrid system. 3.5-5.1kWh batteries to supplement the engine.

In and out with 10-minute electrical vehicle recharge | Penn State University

New developments in charging Lithium cells shows that heating the batteries to 140 F for 10 minutes than rapidly cooling to ambient temps allows for 200 to 300 miles of range with a battery life expectancy of 2,500 cycles or the equivalent of 500,000 miles.

Also mentioned in the study, fast charging of Lithium cells below 50 F produces lithium spikes on the anode, reducing cell capacity.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/10-minute-charge-evs-hit-170000497.html

Ford Brings Three New Plug-In Hybrids To Frankfurt Motor Show

A glimpse of what is coming to Europe.

The Kuga is the Escape.
We are getting the Explorer PHEV as the Lincoln Aviator.
The Mondeo is the Fusion. Of course, we don't get the wagon, but the Fusion and its hybrid versions is living on in 2020.
The Puma is a crossover based on the Fiesta. I expect it to come here, as the Ecosport is an old model brought in to fill the slot below the Escape.

I was originally thinking we wouldn't see the mild hybrids here, but Now i am rethinking that. Many Fords now have start/stop systems standard, and the cost of a 48v hybrid system upgrade would be less than $1000 to Ford. Perhaps they are planning to bring them here. Which could explain why they support California's fuel economy standards.

Jon B attended the Tokyo Auto Show and brought back photos and videos. A lot of interesting things going on. Harbour Air (Vancouver, CA) plans to be the world’s first fully-electric airline. According to Mary Barra, General Motors will spend more money in the next 5 years developing new EVs than in ICE development. The […]

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Toyota Australia says plug-in hybrids are imminent - Car News | CarsGuide

Do all Toyota hybrids before current generation use the same multi-cellular construction? I’m pondering getting a Highlander Hybrid, as longer Uber trips in my Gen 3 are tight with 4 passengers. Would a 2010 or older HiHy be on its last leg on the battery, or is this not a concern on them??

1) Russell provides insight gained at Toyota’s eVolution event2) If you haven’t yet watched Russell’s interview with Matthew Klippenstein, you should check it out3) The founder of Faraday Future files bankruptcy4) Dyson declares they are giving up on developing an electric vehicle5) All the non-Tesla owners need a supercharger network6) The Nobel Prize in Chemistry […]

Read more about this episode on WhatDrives.Us

1) General Motors considers (threatens) to bring back the Hummer nameplate as an EV.2) John Goodenough and others receive the Nobel Prize for inventing the Lithium-Ion battery that is primarily powering our transition to electric vehicles.3) Tesla Gigafactory 3, phase 2 will be a battery manufacturing facility.4) The future of transportation is not cars. Not […]

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There's a bunch of videos.
Toyota EVs At The 2019 Tokyo Motor Show: Photos/Videos

Science Magazine article published tomorrow. I agree, future of electric vehicles is battery technology.
The coming electric vehicle transformation | Science

Overview:

Claims: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LqVcffdT1A

Claims summary:
1,000Wh/kg
50,000 cycles
<$50/kWh
Non-flammable

Compare with current batteries:
180-250Wh/kg
300-6,000 cycles depending on depth-of-discharge and other factors (i.e. temperature)
$200/kWh
Flammable

They're already making batteries for on-grid utility use, though reading between the lines, those are not the high-density (1,000Wh/kg) ones. The high-density ones are in laboratory testing so far.

I'm encouraged because these seem to be real, not some fantasy by one of the many fly-by-night scam artists we've seen before making similar claims. This is the sort of thing that could make EV's genuinely practical and cost effective for most people, rather than the high-cost, low-range niche products we have today.

We'll see over the next few years if this pans out or not. There have been many...

Garrett Electric Turbochargers Headed To Production In 2021

While I often disparage the idea of a diesel hybrid, the idea of a hybrid turbocharger on a diesel makes sense to me.

Toyota&#39;s New Model Yaris Makes World Premiere | Toyota | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website
New Toyota Yaris – Designed for urban life

- 1.5-liter inline three-cylinder Dynamic Force Engine (cut down 2.0 engine?) with 40% efficiency, no mention of D-4S, probably PFI only
- 15% more system power - so around 114 HP
- more than 20% increase in fuel efficiency
- E-Four is being offered on a Toyota compact car for the first time.
- TSS 2.0, with Rear Cross Traffic Auto Brake. The sensing system has been expanded to prevent accidents at intersections by detecting oncoming cars when turning right and pedestrians crossing the street when turning right or left (adopted by Toyota for the first time).
- World’s first centre airbags...

I changed the left rear door window glass,when operating to up (close) the glass when reach full up the glass does not remains up it goes back down(open),please give some assistance.

Powering ahead: six new ways to charge an electric car | Money | The Guardian
Couple of interesting things there.

The first is the installation of street lamp post chargers in the UK. There, the electric supply to a lamp could mean up to 24 amps available for a charger.

The second is the company, Connected Kerb. They are making low profile public chargers for street side charging with cute animal names. The interesting part concerns discussions here about income streams for charger companies.
"These bits of kit are designed to have a low visual impact, and are fitted with sensors and gauges that mean they can also provide local authorities with real-time data on traffic, weather and air conditions. In addition, they act as ultra-fast wifi points."

Which leads to UK and German cable/media/internet companies making use of their existing cabling conduits to install chargers at their service...