Toyota set to launch plug-in Prius in 2012
Fri 23 September 2011
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Toyota has announced that the new Prius Plug-In hybrid will go on sale in the UK during the first half of 2012. Toyota says that the electric driving range is expected to be more than 14 miles. The car will cost £26,000 after the deduction of the £5,000 Government low carbon car grant.
Once the batteries are exhausted, the Prius Plug-in will automatically switch to full hybrid mode including the petrol engine. Economy figures are still to be ratified, but Toyota claim CO2 emissions of just 49 g/km and fuel economy of 134.5 mpg on the combined cycle.
After the car's battery drops below the minimum acceptable level for EV-only drive, it can be recharged via an ordinary household or dedicated EV electrical outlet in around 90 minutes.
Toyota is running a pilot study involving 200 prototype plug-in Prius cars across Europe – twenty of them in London. The London study (a partnership with EDF Energy) is using the data to monitor battery recharging patterns. The results should show motorists how to time their recharging to make the best use of the power supply in terms of cost and emissions.
According to Toyota, the initial data shows that the Plug-in Prius can achieve a more efficient urban driving performance than the best-in-class diesel and petrol models of a similar size.
Toyota has confirmed the car will go on sale for £31,000 in the UK. After the £5,000 Government grant, this reduces the cost to £26,000.
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