Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid: Look for the evolution of sustainable transportation on the roads in Ontario this year

A new era in sustainable mobility begins in Ontario, as Toyota Canada delivered a Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid (Prius PHV) to its provincial testing partners at a ceremony today. Toyota Canada and provincial partners the Province of Ontario (Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Transportation), Ontario Power Generation, the City of Toronto and the AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence were all on hand to officially ‘plug-in’ to the future.

To mark the occasion, Rick Jennings, Assistant Deputy Minister, Energy Supply, Transmission and Distribution Policy, Cara Clairman, Vice President of Sustainable Development, Ontario Power Generation, Joe Pantalone, Deputy Mayor, City of Toronto, Dr. Peter Frise, Scientific Director and CEO, AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence and Toyota Canada’s President Yoichi Tomihara were on hand for the delivery at Toyota Canada’s head office in Scarborough today.

“The McGuinty government is pleased to be a partner in this pilot project, which will help provide us with data needed to build province-wide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles – a core element of our Smart Grid vision,” said Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy. “The Smart Grid will not only play an important role in achieving our goal of having one electric car for every 20 vehicles on the road by 2020, it will also make it easier to bring smaller renewable energy projects on-line under our Green Energy Act.”

“As Ontario’s largest electricity generator, OPG would supply most of the electrons for plug-in electric vehicles like the Prius PHV,” said Tom Mitchell, President and CEO of Ontario Power Generation. “Optimally, cars would recharge at night when demand and price are low and there’s a surplus of nuclear, wind and hydroelectric power – sources that are virtually free of emissions that cause climate change and smog.”

“Participating in a program like this supports the City of Toronto’s Green Fleet Plan and Sustainable Energy Plan actions, to pilot test promising vehicle technologies including electric vehicles like the PHV and incorporate them into the City’s fleet.” Gerry Pietschmann, Director of Fleet Services, City of Toronto.

“As Canada’s automotive research and development program, AUTO21 provides training on cutting edge technology to nearly 450 graduate students,” said Dr. Peter Frise, AUTO21 Scientific Director and CEO. “We’re excited to partner with Toyota on this initiative and provide an opportunity for some of the students to learn about the near-market technologies that are poised to play a role within the Canadian automotive sector.”

Toyota’s Ontario partners will share their Prius PHV, which will be fitted with telematics equipment to record vehicle and hybrid system performance.

 “Toyota Canada is pleased to deliver the first Prius PHV to our partners in Ontario, a province that has shown great leadership in planning for a more sustainable transportation future,” said Yoichi Tomihara, President of Toyota Canada Inc. “We believe the Prius PHV will help Canadian drivers minimize their impact on the environment, and Toyota is grateful to have such important partners join us in gathering critical real-world feedback.”

Based on the world’s most popular hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius PHV is designed to deliver a range of more than 20 kilometres and top speed of almost 100 KPH on battery alone. In addition, an onboard Atkinson-cycle gasoline engine enables the vehicle to revert to hybrid mode and operate like a regular Prius – giving the vehicle the driving range and performance Canadians demand from today’s automobiles.

The Toyota Prius Plug-In achieves a fuel consumption of just 1.75L/100km and CO₂ emissions of 41 g/km under specified driving conditions (combined electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle modes). Compared to the typical conventional midsize automobile, driving a Prius PHV for one year is expected to reduce one’s fuel consumption by 1,650 L (83 per cent) and one’s CO₂ emissions by almost 4,000 kg (or four tonnes) (Fuel consumption is an estimate based on the Japan JC-08 test.  Fuel savings and emissions reductions claims are based on a comparison with the average fuel consumption of all midsize vehicles listed in Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCAN) Fuel Consumption Guide, assuming yearly average driving distances of 20,000 km/year).

Canada has been selected as one of the participating countries for Toyota’s global test of the Prius PHV. Five Prius PHV vehicles hit the roads this summer with 15 trial partners in four provinces in the first phase of a nationwide trial, including Ontario. This enables Toyota Canada to conduct technical and market acceptance tests unique to Canada’s driving experiences and climatic conditions. The real world trials will continue through the coming winter to assess Prius PHV performance under a range of driving and climate conditions. Moreover, feedback from the Canadian tests will help ensure the Prius PHV performs well in any country where drivers encounter cold temperatures, ice and snow.

Canadian Prius enthusiasts are encouraged to join Toyota Canada’s Prius PHV facebook page for information on consumer test-drive event opportunities, telematics feedback updates from the test trials, and details on Toyota’s sustainable mobility efforts (http://www.facebook.com/ToyotaCanadaPriusPlugIn).