Lithium: First Look at the 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid TNR.v, CZX.v, WLC.v, LI.v, RM.v, SQM, FMC, ROC, AVL.to, QUC.v, RES.v, TTM, NSANY, TM, DAI

"It is a very important news for our Lithium Demand model. Plug-In Hybrid above is promised in 2010 with Lithium-ion battery, now Toyota announces that new bigger Prius will be with lithium-ion battery in late 2010. Our discussions at Frankfurt Motor Show 2009 now officially confirmed: that all advanced Hybrids and all BEV are using lithium batteries. Salman Partners have recently put an investment Metals Morning Note where they pronounced "Lithium comeback".

We do personally expect for full BEVs, like Nissan Leaf, to take off very soon and Toyota's full electric mode range of 13 miles sounds more like a joke now, but this move by Number One Hybrid maker in the world is very important for Lithium Demand in the near term. In September Toyota almost crashed Lithium Juniors market by announcing that it is going to stay with Ni based batteries despite promising Li-ion technology due to it cost. Welcome to the market my friends - Toyota never stops making circles around Lithium producers and developers after that and they are moving to Lithium themselves now. Canadian Papers are questioning now, what commodity is hotter - Gold? Try lithium instead and Prius is still like an icon among other Hybrids: even BBC used it in its "Rare Earth: The Great New Game" discussion on new economic reality with Hybrid of Japan-China relationship moving fast into electrified 21st century economy against the West economies still siting on its Combustion Engines.

"PopularMechanics

First Look at the 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid
By Cari Nelson Published on: December 2, 2009

Toyota is taking a green step into 2010 with the launch of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Although derived from the third-generation Prius, the plug-in debuts Toyota's first lithium-ion battery. Toyota has joined forces with battery production company Panasonic Electric Vehicle Energy to create this first-generation battery design. What does lithium-ion offer for the new Prius? The battery enables the driver to reach increased speeds of up to 60 mph while in the electric-only mode. And when the battery is at its maximum charge capacity, Toyota says that the plug-in can drive for 13 miles in electric mode. That's down a bit from the Chevy Volt's 40-mile electric-only range. Once this Prius hits its max EV distance, the PHEV resorts back to its roots by continuing its journey in hybrid mode. Toyota plans to bring 150 cars to the U.S. early next year for a program that will allow an in-depth analysis of the public's acceptance of the new model. During this demonstration, the PHEV will be equipped with monitoring devices that will disclose data to the driver, such as battery depletion status, all-EV driving distance, and vehicle charging figures. We can't wait to test one ourselves."