As part of the Advanced Power and Energy Program, the University of California (Irvine) and its Institute of Transportation Studies (Berkeley) will test a plug-in hybrid vehicle supplied by Toyota. The world's number one automaker also announced that government authorities in Japan will be evaluating a similar vehicle in their domestic market.
Toyota wants to explore different types of technologies. Unlike traditional hybrids that recharge the batteries thanks to regenerative braking, the prototypes being tested at Irvine and Berkeley use a much larger nickel-metal battery pack, hence the need for plug-in capability. Beyond that, the system is pretty much the same, except for the fact that the vehicle can cover longer distances and drive at faster speeds in electric mode. These plug-in hybrids are also capable of achieving better fuel economy and producing less greenhouse gas emissions than regular gasoline-electric hybrids.
Since 1999, hybrid vehicles have helped save nearly one billion liters of fuel in the United States.
photo:Toyota
Toyota wants to explore different types of technologies. Unlike traditional hybrids that recharge the batteries thanks to regenerative braking, the prototypes being tested at Irvine and Berkeley use a much larger nickel-metal battery pack, hence the need for plug-in capability. Beyond that, the system is pretty much the same, except for the fact that the vehicle can cover longer distances and drive at faster speeds in electric mode. These plug-in hybrids are also capable of achieving better fuel economy and producing less greenhouse gas emissions than regular gasoline-electric hybrids.
Since 1999, hybrid vehicles have helped save nearly one billion liters of fuel in the United States.
photo:Toyota