1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius Primes in Japan

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Washingtonian, May 14, 2019.

  1. Washingtonian

    Washingtonian Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2017
    711
    608
    0
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I just came back from three weeks in 12 Japanese ports on a long cruise. In every port I walked around the town enjoying the different kinds of cars and kept looking for a Prius Prime. I saw a lot of the current generation of Prius, but not a single Prime. I even saw a couple of Ferraris, and a 1970s VW bus, but no Primes. Quite a few Prius are being used as taxis, although they still use the Toyota Crown with the 4-cylinder engine. Looking at the housing options in most of the small cities, it doesn't look that very many owners would have the ability plug in where they have to park. I guess if I were living in Japan I would probably be driving one of the boxy little cars that are most common there as they would be fuel efficient, inexpensive, and easy to park.
     
    #1 Washingtonian, May 14, 2019
    Marine Ray and bisco like this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,755
    48,969
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    it is said that electricity is scarce in japan. with fukushima gone and no new nuclear, they are focusing on mirai fcev and any primes likely have solar roof.
     
    #2 bisco, May 14, 2019
  3. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2008
    2,927
    782
    0
    Location:
    IL
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    #3 a_gray_prius, May 14, 2019
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
  4. Tha_Ape

    Tha_Ape Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2019
    271
    161
    0
    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    In Japan your registration is based on engine size, k cars (the little boxy ones with yellow plates) are very common in cities. parking is very expensive in cities and most people don't even have cars, like NYC. Their trains are a model of efficiency. Practically every town has a train station and they're all connected. The train is by far the most efficient way to travel. They are rarely over 1min late.

    I imagine the plugins are more popular outside of the cities. Electricity is expensive, but gas is more so. When I was living there it was $6.50/gal. To top it off, your job will pay for your train pass between home and work.

    I know Nissan was working on their leaf's acting as both transportation and acting as batteries for houses
     
    #4 Tha_Ape, May 15, 2019
  5. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    21,736
    11,325
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    In addition to normal requirements for charging at home, about half of Japanese residences have a lower power electrical service than in the US. A Prime takes over 10 hours to fully charge on level 1 there, level 2 isn't possible at such homes. The Prime does have CHAdeMO standard, and chargers are common though.
    Not just Nissan. The PiP and Prime could act as emergency power supply for a home in Japan. The Mirai can even supply home power there. It requires a special EVSE power station that can control the energy flow both ways. The car also needs CHAdeMO, since that is what these units work through.
    Mirai's in the US were suppose to get the power supply option, but I don't know if it ever happened. The converted cost of these power stations was around $10k last time I looked into it.
     
    #5 Trollbait, May 15, 2019
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)