Toyota says they may not use lithium-ion batteries in all their new hybrids, even when they do become available. The feeling is they will only need them in those hybrids that require the extra power.
Which makes some sense since lithium-ion batteries are going to be, at least in the near future, more expensive than the nickel metal hydride batteries that are in today's hybrid cars.
"Nickel-metal continues to be our main application," Yoshitaka Asakura, general manager of Toyota's hybrid system engineering division, said in an interview yesterday in Toyota City, Japan, where Toyota is based. "It's not the case that every vehicle will require lithium-ion. According to different vehicle needs, we'll use different types of batteries."Source: Bloomberg.com: Japan
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2 comments:
Toyota is going with Panasonic for there LI-ion batteries.. If they went to the American company, Ener1 Inc. (ENEI.OB) , the LI-ION battery could be half the cost and safer than any Li-ION hybrid battery on the market. This company has a battery completed, The testing is done. Get with it Toyota.
I'm not sure that Ener1, is 'all set' and that's that. They are about ready to go into production of their battery, but that does not mean everything is finished. It does mean whoever goes with Ener1 will be ahead of the game, though.
In the long run, however, it will also come down to which cars get the new battery type. Look at the difference between what happened with the Insight and Prius. Despite coming out at the same time, the Prius has become a raging success while the Insight was quietly retired.
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