New Toyota PHV will be Tested in London
The joint initiative of Toyota and EDF Energy to start producing Plug in Hybrid Vehicles (PHV) has been backed by the British government. As a part of this project Toyota will prepare 20 PHV-s by 2010. The cars will be leased to public organizations and private companies. A diversification of the usage pattern will help to understand the consumer behavior when it comes to electric cars.
A PHV is a hybrid vehicle that can operate as an electric car by turning the internal combustion engine off completely. The cars will be equipped with the new generation Li-ion batteries that will allow a zero-emission day-to-day cruising. Toyota with its Prius model is a pioneer in hybrid vehicle field. However, it is possible that we might have to wait for good five years before we see a Toyota PHV in production - the London test is scheduled to run for 3 long years. It will be one of the first thorough real-life tests involving a PHV.
It emerged that a single PHV has been running in London since autumn 2008, however, giving the car to real people marks a new challenge. The cars will be run on an urban cycle by 20 people whose driving habits are quite different. The tests will provide valuable data for improving overall usability and efficiency of the electric car.
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