I was at a presentation today by John Paul Farag of Toyota Canada's Advanced Technology & Powertrain division, at a meeting on sustainable energy by the Ottawa Chapter of the Professional Engineers, Ontario. His view (and Toyotas) is that hybrid technology is the way of the future.
He repeated a couple of times during the presentation that an advantage of hybrids is "you don't have to plug in". He also emphasized that people were used to the operation and maintenance of this type of vehicle, and they used existing infrastructure.
He talked about marketing challenges, that most people didn't understand the benefits and that compromises were not necessary. He specifically talked about customer confusion about hybrid and electric vehicles, including that caused by Toyota itself by "adding a plug" to some of their own offerings. When he talked about the Plug-in Prius he first talked about its advantages and how it met 75% of Canadian consumer's commuting needs on pure electric. He then turned around and hedged saying it might not be the right solution for you depending on your usage, and that a regular hybrid could be better.
He showed a couple of diagrams showing the range of vehicles of the future, with "pure EVs" relegated to short-range commuter and delivery vehicles (with appropriate picture of a tiny econobox). Long-distance driving vehicles would be plug-in hybrids, and larger vehicles would be hybrids. The biggest vehicles would be hydrogen fuel cell.
He also pointed to limitations of pure EVs in cold weather conditions, such as "losing 58% of their range at -18C". (That's a heck of an exaggeration, even for a Leaf without cold weather package.)
He stated that Toyota is committed to bringing hydrogen fuel cells to market by 2020. He claimed that the major disadvantages of the technology have all been solved, and they're just working to reduce cost by 50%. He also pointed to zero emissions and multiple sources of hydrogen as being an advantage. (Without pointing out, of course, that the main source is natural gas, and that electrolyzing water brought your efficiency back down to ICE levels.)
He did mention the Rav4 EV project in conjunction with Tesla. (He didn't say they were building it in Ontario but you can't buy it here.)
He said that 81% of hybrid vehicles sold in Canada are from Toyota, but that only about 1.5% of all vehicles sold last year were hybrid or electric. Long way to go on that front.
It was a nicely done presentation, and sounded all very reasonable. Unfortunately I have strong disagreements with the general attitude of Toyota about EVs, and about the practicality of hydrogen. (I suppose hydrogen might make sense for long-haul trucks.)
He repeated a couple of times during the presentation that an advantage of hybrids is "you don't have to plug in". He also emphasized that people were used to the operation and maintenance of this type of vehicle, and they used existing infrastructure.
He talked about marketing challenges, that most people didn't understand the benefits and that compromises were not necessary. He specifically talked about customer confusion about hybrid and electric vehicles, including that caused by Toyota itself by "adding a plug" to some of their own offerings. When he talked about the Plug-in Prius he first talked about its advantages and how it met 75% of Canadian consumer's commuting needs on pure electric. He then turned around and hedged saying it might not be the right solution for you depending on your usage, and that a regular hybrid could be better.
He showed a couple of diagrams showing the range of vehicles of the future, with "pure EVs" relegated to short-range commuter and delivery vehicles (with appropriate picture of a tiny econobox). Long-distance driving vehicles would be plug-in hybrids, and larger vehicles would be hybrids. The biggest vehicles would be hydrogen fuel cell.
He also pointed to limitations of pure EVs in cold weather conditions, such as "losing 58% of their range at -18C". (That's a heck of an exaggeration, even for a Leaf without cold weather package.)
He stated that Toyota is committed to bringing hydrogen fuel cells to market by 2020. He claimed that the major disadvantages of the technology have all been solved, and they're just working to reduce cost by 50%. He also pointed to zero emissions and multiple sources of hydrogen as being an advantage. (Without pointing out, of course, that the main source is natural gas, and that electrolyzing water brought your efficiency back down to ICE levels.)
He did mention the Rav4 EV project in conjunction with Tesla. (He didn't say they were building it in Ontario but you can't buy it here.)
He said that 81% of hybrid vehicles sold in Canada are from Toyota, but that only about 1.5% of all vehicles sold last year were hybrid or electric. Long way to go on that front.
It was a nicely done presentation, and sounded all very reasonable. Unfortunately I have strong disagreements with the general attitude of Toyota about EVs, and about the practicality of hydrogen. (I suppose hydrogen might make sense for long-haul trucks.)
