Prius Solar: Toyota sees sunny skies in its future

by William Atkins

Tuesday, 08 July 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! Though unconfirmed, the Toyota Motor Corporation is expecting to announce that it will install solar panels on some of its third-generation Prius hybrid cars in 2009. When the solar panels are installed Toyota will become the first major automobile manufacturer to use solar power for one of its vehicles. According to the Nikkei News Daily article “Toyota To Add Solar Panels To Prius; 1st for Major Automaker” (Monday, July 7, 2008), Toyota “… plans to install a solar power generation system on its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle when the model goes through a complete makeover as early as next spring.” The Toyota Prius, according to Nikkei, would be equipped with solar panels on the roof of the more expensive versions of the Prius. The Prius hybrid is expected to be totally redesigned early in 2009—its third generation model. The gasoline-electric hybrid automobile will use its new solar panels to generate power for some of the systems for its air conditioning. Nikkei stated that Toyota will buy solar panels from the Kyocera Corporation for use on its Prius automobile. As of yet, Toyota has not confirmed this report, but is expected to do so in the near future. The Toyota Prius is the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car. It went on sale for the first time in Japan in late 1997. Check out on the next page which car is considered the most fuel efficient car in the United States. You probably won't be surprised! << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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