Toyota debuts new Prius with rooftop PV option in Japan
The rooftop solar panels recharge the 3.7-volt (24Ah) lithium-ion auxiliary battery while driving to raise hybrid fuel efficiency, but cannot charge the battery to full capacity.
The PV panels also supply power to the traction battery while the vehicle is parked, providing enough of a charge to drive up to a maximum of 6.1 kilometres per day, or an average of 2.9 kilometres, Toyota said in an online statement.
In addition, the solar panels provide electricity for the vehicle’s lights, power windows and air conditioning systems.
The PV-charging option has been in development since 2009, when Toyota enlisted Kyocera to provide 56W modules for its prototypes.
Toyota first announced plans last summer to offer the vehicles in the Japanese and European markets.
The Japanese automaker launched sales throughout Japan last week, with a monthly sales target of 2,500 vehicles Prices range from ¥3.3 million ($29,000) to ¥4.2 million.
Toyota hopes to eventually offer the PV-charging option in the US market, once it develops an alternative to the reinforced glass sheeting for the PV cells, which do not meet US standards.
As an electric vehicle, the Prius has a travel range of 68.2 kilometres, or roughly double the range of the previous model, Toyota said.
The company operates 4,200 charging stations throughout Japan, in addition to 14,600 stations run by Nippon Charge Service.
The external electrical power supply of the Prius can also provide household electricity even when the engine is not running — a key feature that will be increasingly incorporated into Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) in Japan in the years to come.
Last July, troubled Chinese thin-film PV group Hanergy revealed plans to offer four different PV-powered electric vehicle models.
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[…] Toyota has had a solar version of its Prius model since 2017, when a version was revealed which featured a small 180 W solar roof panel supplied by Kyocera. The model was only available in Japan and lacked the oomph to charge the vehicle’s battery for a range of more than 6km. […]
[…] Pv magazine says this vehicle is the “the first commercially available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system.” Its solar panels can partially recharge the 3.7 volt lithium-ion auxiliary battery while driving and charges the battery to full capacity while parked. […]
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[…] available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system,” PV magazine explained. Panasonic notes that, previously, rooftop solar cells had outputs of only “several tens of […]
[…] It is “the first commercially available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system,” PV magazine explained. […]
[…] available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system,” PV magazine explained. Panasonic notes that, previously, rooftop solar cells had outputs of only “several tens of […]
[…] It is “the first commercially available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system,” PV magazine explained. […]
[…] It is “the first commercially available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system,” PV magazine explained. […]
[…] It is “the first commercially available, mass-produced passenger car to feature an optional solar charging system,” PV magazine explained. […]
[…] article was originally published in PV Magazine. Reproduced here with […]
[…] Toyota has had a solar version of its Prius model since 2017, when a version was revealed which featured a small 180 W solar roof panel supplied by Kyocera. The model was only available in Japan and lacked the oomph to charge the vehicle’s battery for a range of more than 6km. […]