Lithium Drive: Toyota Prius Alpha launches in Japan with Lithium battery pack tnr.v, czx.v, alk.ax, lmr.v, tsla, rm.v, nup.ax, srz.ax, usa.ax, jnn.v, abn.v, res, mcp, avl.to, quc.v, cee.v, sqm, fmc, roc, li.v, wlc.v, clq.v, lit, nsany, byddf, gm, dai, rno.pa, hev, aone, vlnc

  

  We have already discussed importance for our Lithium demand of the Toyota move towards Lithium based technology. Now it is happening. We can expect the rising Range in the all electric mode and increasing size of the Lithium batteries. Toyota RAV 4 EV with Tesla power-drive system and lithium batteries will be the game changer on its own. Toyota can strike back to the top chart of the electric space very fast.

"This move by Toyota to Lithium batteries for its Plug-In Hybrids will have a huge implications for the whole lithium industry. Toyota's Prius is the leader in Hybrid sales and even if the batteries are smaller in the Hybrids, than those ones in pure Electric Cars, numbers on the sale side are adding up very fast.

  Toyota has a long history of discussing different batteries in the headlines, but moving fast into another direction with actual technology - they have announce quite a few times that lithium technology will not be cost effective, but later bought a stake in an upcoming lithium producer and now move to the lithium its Plug-In Hybrid fleet.
  Upcoming EV RAV-4 will be powered by Tesla lithium technology as well."

 "Toyota RAV4 Ev looks like very impressive Electric Car. Now we will have Electric SUV to cope with Peak Oil in style and safety. Tesla power-train will provide necessary edge to the Lithium technology which is new to Toyota. This EV will be taking its market niche from Nissan Leaf and GM Volt straight from the beginning - pricing will be crucial as always."

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Toyota Prius Alpha launches in Japan; delivery delays expected

by Eric Loveday

Toyota has officially launched the Prius Alpha in Japan. Derived from the third-generation Prius hybrid, the Alpha offers seating for up to seven and is Toyota's first mass-produced hybrid with an available lithium-ion battery pack. Concurrent with the launch, Toyota announced that delays in delivering the Prius Alpha, due to the effects of the quake that shook Japan on March 11th, are to be expected.

The Prius Alpha is available in two interior configurations: a five-seat, two-row model and a seven-seat, three-row model. Only the seven-seat version gets the li-ion battery pack, though; the five-seater makes due with a more traditional NiMH unit.

The Prius Alpha is equipped with a 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle engine and Toyota's Hybrid System II. The Japanese automaker claims that the Alpha's advanced aerodynamics and low weight enable a fuel efficiency rating of 26.2 kilometers per liter (61.6 miles per gallon U.S.) on Japan's JC08 test cycle.

Toyota has set a monthly sales target of 3,000 units for the Alpha. Pricing starts at 2,350,000 yen ($29,095 U.S. at the current exchange rate) and tops out at 3,305,000 yen ($40,919). The Alpha is the basis for the five-seat Prius V, which is scheduled to launch in North America this summer, and the seven-seat Prius +, which is expected to hit dealerships in Europe in mid-2012.

[Source: Toyota]"

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