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.

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.