Toyota to Halve Hybrid Price for Next Prius

28 October, 2007 12:00:00

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Toyota will slash the price and size of its hybrid system by around half for the next-generation Prius and use a nickel-metal hydride battery instead of lithium-ion, a top executive said.

"When we went from the first-generation Prius to the second we did the same thing," executive vice-president Kazuo Okamoto, in charge of Toyota's research and development, said in Tokyo.

Toyota has not publicly disclosed a time frame for the introduction of the third-generation Prius. Some media reports have speculated the planned late-2008 launch would be delayed because of concerns over the safety of lithium-ion batteries.

"I can't tell you when it will come to market but the preparations are making steady progress," Okamoto said. The next Prius would "definitely" use improved nickel-hydride batteries rather than higher-energy lithium-ion.

"Lithium-ion is going to take some time," he said.

Toyota, which pioneered the petrol-electric hybrid powertrain with the Prius in 1997, has set a goal of selling a million hybrids a year soon after 2010. It hopes to eventually make the system available across its vehicle line-up.

Toyota’s 1/X concept has its debut at this years
Tokyo Motor Show. Maintains an interior space
on par with that of the Prius , with an aimed-for
fuel efficiency that is double and a weight reduced
to 420 kilograms (about one third the weight of the Prius).

[source: Reuters]