Toyota Testing Plug-In Hybrid Prius

It’s not often we hear about Toyota following GM and Ford in the hybrid race, but today the company announced it would test eight plug-in hybrids on public roads in Japan. The company showed off a Prius converted to be a plug-in. This allows the hybrid to travel up to 8 miles at a time on just the electric motor, compared to the 1.7 miles the standard Prius can travel on electricity.

Even Toyota admits that selling these types of plug-in hybrids to the public won’t happen for “some time,” as battery technology hasn’t advanced far enough to make the vehicles practical for buyers.

Unlike the plug-in hybrids Ford and GM are working on, the Toyota version will use a gasoline engine to power the car after the electric motor has run out of a charge. Ford and GM are working on a system where the gasoline engine is basically a generator that will recharge the electric motor, which will propel the car at all times.

Toyota Develops Plug-in Hybrid Car for Public Road Tests (The Detroit News)