Toyota Hybrid-X and FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept

Toyota presented the Hybrid-X concept at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show – a concept car that proposes a new design language for hybrid models, while also acting as an innovative technology showcase for future generation hybrid cars.

The Toyota Hybrid-X is designed as a four door, four seat open-space concept. It has the dimensions of a conventional family car with an overall length of 4,500mm and wheelbase of 2,800mm. The width is 1,850mm and height 1,440mm.

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Toyota Hybrid-X

Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept

The Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept is a sports car concept which could fill a gap in Toyota’s model lineup left vacant since 1997 and the passing of the Toyota Supra.

The Toyota FT-HS Concept could be powered by a 3.5 litre V6 working in conjunction with an electric motor, to allow for around 400 horsepower and performance figures in the 4 seconds to 60mph range.

Toyota plans 'ultra-fuel-efficient' hybrid

(The Yomiuri Shimbun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- TM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to release as early as 2011 a small hybrid car with fuel-efficiency of 40 kilometers per liter with a price tag of 1.5 million, according to Toyota officials. The "ultra-fuel-efficient" car will surpass in terms of fuel efficiency the latest model of Toyota's top hybrid car, the Prius, which can achieve 38 kpl.

The envisaged model will be the world's most fuel-efficient mass-produced hybrid car, whose main power source is gasoline.

Toyota wants to attract consumers who are conscious of energy-saving products and leave behind its rival, Honda Motor Co., in hybrid car sales.

The design of the envisaged new Toyota hybrid is based on the firm's Vitz minicar. However, the new model's fuel-efficiency is nearly double that of the Vitz, whose maximum fuel economy is 22 kpl. The new car's planned price is the lowest among Toyota's hybrid cars. Toyota plans to sell the ultra-fuel-efficient car in Japan, the United States and Europe.
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Hybrid cars are increasingly popular in Japan, mainly due to government tax breaks and subsidies for drivers who replace their "clunkers" with eco-friendly cars.

Honda raised its domestic sales target for the Insight, which is capable of 30 kpl, from the initial 60,000 to more than 100,000 for fiscal 2009, though it is less fuel-efficient than the Prius, because it has sold better than expected. Nissan Motor Co., too, plans to release hybrid cars as early as 2010.

New Toyota hybrid to outdo Prius

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to release a cheaper compact hybrid with better fuel-efficiency than the new best-selling Prius hybrid as early as 2011, sources said Thursday.

The compact gas-electric hybrid will have a fuel efficiency of more than 40 km per liter and will be priced around ¥1.5 million, which is lower than the ¥2 million price range of the Prius and Honda Motor Co.'s Insight hybrid, the sources said.

The price competition is likely to intensify with rival Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, which is also planning to release a hybrid version of its Fit compact in 2010.

Toyota's compact hybrid will be based on its Vitz model, which will be powered by a hybrid system that will be smaller than the current combined system of the gasoline engine and electric motor.

Fully electric zero-emission cars, already rolled out by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., are also considered another competitive alternative to hybrids, especially as Nissan Motor Co. is preparing to launch its hatchback-type electric vehicle next year.

Battle of the Hybrid Titans

The 2010 Honda Insight.

The first two hybrids to hit the US market back in late 1999/early 2000, were the Insight and Prius. Well, it’s back to the future. Nine years later, these two hybrid titans will once again dominate, although the Prius will remain the biggest seller.

The new Toyota Prius was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January 2009. The third generation Prius is be bigger and more powerful. The engine grew from 1.5 liters to 1.8 liters—giving a boost in horsepower from 110 to 160—and the body is be three to four inches longer and about an inch wider. The combined US fuel economy rating is 50 mpg, by keeping the weight down to current levels and re-engineering the powertrain to extend the range of all-electric gas-free driving.

The next Prius does not offer plug-in capabilities and continues to use nickel metal hydride batteries, rather than switching to lithium ion batteries.

In the spring, Honda began shipping its revitalized Honda Insight—perfectly priced several thousand dollars below the Prius. At $20,000, the 2010 Honda Insight is be the most affordable high-mpg vehicle on the market.

The new Honda Insight is more practical than the earlier Insight. It’s a five-door hatchback with ample room for five passengers. The aerodynamic design borrows elements from Honda’s FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle, and bears resemblance to the Toyota Prius’s iconic hatchback profile. Honda is pinning its hybrid resurgence on the Insight—and plans to follow in future years with a Honda CR-Z hybrid and perhaps a Honda Fit hybrid.

Hyundai launches its first hybrid Elantra LPI on market in South Korea

The Hyundai Elantra LPI is the company's first hybrid effort.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's top carmaker, this week launched its first hybrid car in the domestic market to satisfy a growing appetite for fuel-saving vehicles and to improve the image of the company's technology.

Hyundai, the world's No. 5 carmaker along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp., started selling the elantra lPi, a hybrid model of its popular compact sedan that uses liquefied petroleum gas (lPG) and lithium-ion polymer batteries.

"the lPi will show Hyundai has hybrid technology and help improve its image," said Kang Sang-min, an auto analyst at tong Yang Securities.

the hybrid arrived at showrooms amid worries Hyundai could lose out if such cars gained in popularity in the united States, with toyota and Honda, pushing the technology into the mainstream with low-priced gasoline-electric models.

Hyundai is due to launch its first gasoline-electric hybrid, a version of the flagship Sonata in the latter half of 2010.

the elantra lPi can travel 17.8 kilometres on one litre of lPG or 38.5 kilometres for the price of one litre of gasoline in South Korea, Hyundai said.

in addition, the hybrid emits 99 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, meeting California's Super ultra low emission Vehicle standard. Hyundai aims to sell 7,500 units of the hybrid this year in South Korea. it does not have immediate plans for exports.

How do hybrid cars recharge the battery on highways

The electric part of the hybrid vehicle is only used in town for stop and go or low speed operation. Most hybrids use their gasoline engines for highway driving, and while the gasoline engine is running, it also recharges the batteries.

It depends the hybrid you're driving, but on good hybrids the battery is charged on the highway by the rolling motion of the wheels. It is not enough to power the car using the battery alone, but it is enough to provide enough power that most hybrids still get better highway mileage than their gas-only counterparts. A hybrid battery will virtually never die because there is always something charging it, whether you are braking or just simply moving. The most charge goes to the battery when you are rolling downhill and not pressing on the gas.