EDF Energy and Toyota have teamed up to road trial the first
Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
(PHV) introduced by a car manufacturer to the UK. Trials
start today and will continue
for more than one year. Toyota’s right-hand drive PHV will
make its on-the-road debut
as part of EDF Energy’s company fleet and will be tested by
employees under every-day
driving conditions. The results are expected to play a
pivotal role in the development of
Toyota’s PHV technology, which represents a further
improvement on Toyota's hybrid
technology, one of the world's most environmentally friendly
mass-produced vehicle
powertrain technologies.
The trial builds on the first European PHV testing programme
launched by Toyota and EDF on
French roads in September 2007. The UK partnership is
designed to evaluate vehicle
performance within an urban environment, vehicle
infrastructure requirements, and driver
behaviours and expectations.
Toyota and EDF Energy are using an innovative charging and
invoicing system which is
incorporated into the PHV. This system is compatible with a
new generation of public charging
stations, which aim to make electric power more accessible
on public roads and car parks, and
will reduce the cost to the customer. EDF Energy has helped
to install the first of 40 charging
posts in the UK, with plans to help install more in the
coming months.
A PHV uses Toyota’s hybrid technology with the added benefit
that the vehicle’s batteries can
be fully recharged using a standard electrical plug or an
electrical charging post to extend its
driving range in electric mode. For short distances, PHV can
be driven as an electric vehicle,
resulting in a silent, zero emissions drive. For longer
distances, PHV works as a conventional
hybrid vehicle.
Toyota's PHV is “the best of both worlds”: it enhances the
benefits of hybrid technology, while
avoiding the constraints traditionally linked with electric
vehicles. Toyota expects the PHV to
bring unsurpassed fuel efficiency and therefore record low
emissions. Early test results
indicate that fuel efficiency is significantly higher than
current Prius. For example, for trips up
to 25km, PHV consumes roughly 60% less fuel than Toyota's
hybrid Prius. One of the
research objectives of the UK tests is to confirm such PHV
performance.
The tests also aim at understanding consumers' acceptance of
the new technology, as a
preparation to broader commercialisation in the future.
Toyota has already confirmed that it will
sell lithium-ion battery-equipped PHVs to fleet customers in
Europe and other regions by the
end of 2009.
