Something I heard from one of the managers while at the Toyota dealership last month: Toyota has been developing their new battery. However, they will not initially put it in the Prius. They are saving it for the Rav 4. I have no idea whether what he said is true. I was questioning the manager on whether the battery in the Prius I was about to purchase would be obsolete in a year or so because of new battery technology. That was the answer I got. The only thing that would have changed my mind on purchasing the Prius at that moment was if in just a few months, the 2011 Prius would have the newer battery. Nope. Probably not even for 2012 for the Prius. Maybe 2012 for the Rav 4. Who knows! ** merge ** ... I think if they put a better battery in the Rav4 than what they put in the Prius, that thing will fly off the shelf as far as the small SUV market is concerned. The soccer moms who want something smaller than the Hylander will be lining up. I'll keep my Prius. At 50MPG, I can brag all day at the office and have a bunch of gas guzzlers mad at me. That's why I live. Dumb Mike
Re: Wife STOLE My Blizzard Pearl! Ideas? The type of HVB in a non-plug in hybrid is unimportant. It should not be too small OR too big. It must only last a long time. A Li-Ion HVB is a waste of money with only a small weight advantage.
Pulled this topic (minus profanity) into a new thread. My understanding is the new battery technology being developed is for the PHV and potentially the RAV-4 EV. I'm not sure if the Prius will see it anytime soon since NiMH seems proven for reliability and safety.
Hi All, Did we not hear something about a new RAV4 EV? A new LiION Battery might be for that project?
You're referring to the deal with Tesla, who will provide very limited battery packs to the RAV-4. That battery pack will not find its way into the Prius in any case, so your 2010 (and mine) are in no danger of immenent obsolescence ;-)
I doubt it would be done for the Gen III, but I wouldn't be surprised if a li-Ion pack was used in the fourth generation! But that won't arrive for a few more years, most likely!
