Toyota Motor Europe (TME) is to lease around 150 units of its plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) to selected fleet customers across Europe in the next step towards commercialisation of the project.
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France will be the first country to participate in the three-year pilot with discussions continuing in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.
The first wave of PHVs are expected to reach Strasbourg in late 2009.
“In the future, the PHV will be the perfect complement to the Prius. It offers a low carbon transport solution for customers wanting to drive longer distances using electricity, while still experiencing the traditional benefits of a full hybrid,’ said TME president and CEO Tadashi Arashima. “There is no better time to put our new PHV through its paces. We have to assess its performance in a variety of markets with different infrastructure constraints, driving conditions and customer expectations.”
In partnership with EDF, Toyota has been road-testing a PHV model (equipped with a nickel metal hydride battery) in Europe since 2007. Around 100 units of the new lithium-ion PHV will be leased to selected fleet customers and public bodies in Strasbourg, France, for three years.
Part of the Strasbourg-based fleet will come with a charging system that ensures safe charging, communication between the plug and the vehicle, identification of the vehicle and automatic invoicing of electricity.
A large number of charging points will also be established in users’ homes, the offices of business partners, in public parking lots and on public roads.
Toyota will deploy over 500 new PHVs globally – including in Europe, Japan and the US – by 2010.
