ToyotaCorporation has recently made it clear that a technology of production of lithium-ion batteries, which can increase their capacity doubled by increasing the overall size of the battery only by two-thirds and weight by 50%. Rechargeable version of the Prius will now be able to pass on the electric to 60 km. The cost of traction batteries for the last five years, decreased by 60%, which also contributed to improve the level of Toyota sympathy for the idea of creating an electric vehicle.
As Reuters reports citing the news agency the Nikkei, the Japanese automaker is ready to build a team of engineers, which from the beginning of 2017 will begin the development of an electric vehicle that can pass without recharging at least 300 km. So long as the source explains, the Toyota electric considered only suitable for short trips on small distances, and did not seek to increase their power reserve, preferring hybrids and power plant on the hydrogen fuel cell. The high cost of traction batteries and long charging time Toyota was considered the main obstacle to the creation of electric vehicles with a decent reserve.
Now, as reported by the Japanese counterpart, Toyota is determined to release in 2020 a "long-range" electric vehicle, which will debut in the US and China. Experts believe that the change in doctrine against Toyota EVs due not only to a technological breakthrough and economic factors, but also to changing market conditions. The fact is that in the US the individual states like California introduced increasingly strict quotas on the proportion of vehicles not emitting during operation harmful gases. If the automaker in the production program does not have enough of these vehicles, it will be difficult to survive in the US market. Chinese authorities simply actively promote the sale of electric vehicles, and for the largest car market in the world is an important factor taken into account by automakers. Simply put, the Toyota realized that without a full electric car with a good reserve it will be difficult to compete with other brands.
Officials from Toyota just announced that the company is developing a variety of vehicle types, allowing you to spend less fuel, including electric vehicles, but their use is closely examined in terms of feasibility. By 2050, Toyota promises to all its new cars give the ability to do "zero-emission".