Toyota unveils new Prius options with solar PV in the roof

Japanese and European customers buying Toyota’s next-generation of Prius plug-in hybrid will have the option to get one with a built-in solar roof, that will help charge the car and power its appliances.

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Billed as the world’s first solar-charging production vehicle, Toyota says the new model will be released in Japan and Europe this autumn (Australia’s spring), although its price is yet to be determined. It will not be released in Australia, in light of Toyota Australia’s decision to no longer import plug-in variants.

Showcased last week at an exhibition in Tokyo, the Prius PHV can travel up to 60km on a charge without using its petrol engine, which is more than double the 26.4km range of the current model.

Toyota also has plans to introduce the solar model to the US market, but will first have to find a way to make the PV panel robust enough to meet American safety standards.

According to reports, the Japan market solar panels are laid on reinforced glass sheeting that doesn’t pass US rollover crash tests.

Toyota’s chief engineer, Koji Toyoshima, said the company didn’t yet have the technology to laminate the solar cells in a resin that would not shatter dangerously during a rollover.

But he said the company was working on a solution so that it can introduce the solar panels to the US version of the car – called the Prius Prime in the US – during its lifecycle.



“We would like to introduce this, at least in the lifetime of the current model,” Toyoshima said Wednesday at the car’s Japan debut. “It should be possible to do a lot of charging this way in places like California or Arizona.”

The car maker says solar roof panels will also soon feature on other Toyota hybrid vehicles, once the costs of production are reduced.

Other car-makers, including Audi, have also offered solar powered features in the past, but not to the extent of the new Prius, Toyota claims.

Comments

11 responses to “Toyota unveils new Prius options with solar PV in the roof”

  1. Chris Fraser Avatar
    Chris Fraser

    Excited about the technology … I guess thick polycarbonate windows (like spacecraft) would be expensive even when produced at scale ?

  2. Jennifer Gow Avatar
    Jennifer Gow

    So why precisely aren’t Toyota selling plug in hybrids in Australia? Like the other car companies in Australia, they are seeking to die of irrelevance I suppose.

  3. Charles Avatar
    Charles

    Nice thought but not entirely practical. A solar panel of that size would provide little real benefit – it would power the radio and not much else.

    1. David Osmond Avatar
      David Osmond

      looks like about 1 sqm in size, so about 200W. If parked in the sun would generate on average about 800Wh per day (perhaps a bit optimistic), which would drive the car 4km, or ~1,500kms per year.

      Something like 10% of typical car usage.

      1. al edg Avatar
        al edg

        Even 4km range provided directly from the solar panels on the car would be worthwhile for some people. For everybody it’s a little icing on the cake but if you imagine a car that’s frequently left in the driveway and often used just for shopping trips a free self powered 4km is great! A great example would be my mum… Doesn’t have a carport… Mostly just drives to church and shops and sees friends in the neighbourhood. Most of the time that would be a self powering solar car! That’s really cool!!!!

      2. nakedChimp Avatar
        nakedChimp

        that’s optimal conditions..
        Most people park their car in the shadow.. if you park it in the sun the interior get’s hot and you need even more energy to move the heat out of the car.
        And I’m sure those cells on the roof cost 3-4 times as much as even the expensive Sunpower modules that create 345W each tht you can put on your carport.

        It’s a silly concept, best good for running a fan to blow ambient air at 35degC through the car that get’s to 45degC and more in the sun 😉
        Every car maker so far with hybrids had it to pep up their green offering.

        1. JonathanMaddox Avatar
          JonathanMaddox

          Park it in the sun, and leave the windows down a crack.

      3. Webber Depor Avatar
        Webber Depor
        1. David Osmond Avatar
          David Osmond

          haha, thanks Webber. Good to know the back of my envelope is working OK 🙂

    2. Kevin Chan Avatar
      Kevin Chan

      a solar array of that magnitude will generate a small amount of energy but its not entirely impractical. At the moment I’m working on a solar powered racing car ( https://www.facebook.com/UNSWSunswift ) that won the world record and the FIA Cup in 2014.
      (http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/it%E2%80%99s-official-electric-car-world-record-smashed-unsw-sunswift).
      commercially available solar powered cars are just a few leaps away!

  4. plumplum Avatar
    plumplum

    Bloody fools, not selling plug ins in Australia.
    Bloody fools, bringing that shitty Ruckus in instead.
    Bloody fools, not bringing in the iQ or Aygo.
    Once they lose a customer of some years and several cars to another brand, hard to get them back.
    Bloody fools don’t deserve the money they are getting paid.

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