Apr 19th, 2010 by Ross Edwards
Toyota will sell a hybrid minivan in 2011. The hybrid minivan will use the Prius name and lithium-ion batteries, according to Reuters via Autoblog. The Prius minivan will be the first vehicle besides the Prius sedan to use the name. Toyota has said that the Prius name would be used for a hybrid-only brand.
The Prius minivan’s use of lithium-ion batteries will give it a longer range than a traditional nickel-metal hydride battery found on most hybrid cars. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly found in laptop computers, and have not yet seen wide-scale use in cars. Heat is a major concern with the use of lithium-ion batteries, which made headlines a few years ago when overheating laptop batteries started fires. Toyota has apparently figured out a way to keep the batteries cool enough to be safe.
Lithium-ion batteries are also more expensive than the less powerful ones used in today’s hybrids, but the Toyota Prius minivan plan calls for the people-hauler to be competitive in price with gasoline-powered models. That sounds a bit ambitious, but at least Toyota is acknowledging that the joys of hybrid ownership won’t be enough to convince buyers to pick its hybrid minivan.
Toyota has not said whether its Prius minivan will replace the Sienna minivan it currently sells, or if the two will compete.
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