Toyota Motors Corp. may have finally cracked China's great wall of indifference towards its hybrid cars. That means selling Toyota's hybrid cars in the Chinese market is getting more feasible. In addition, the Japanese car manufacturer is starting to test its pressurized combined power generation system that may increase energy, efficiency, performance and lower emission.
Toyota Has Finally Cracked China's Great Wall
Toyota has been trying to penetrate China's massive car market with its hybrid cars for many years without much success. Franchise brands like the Prius became so pricey to ordinary Chinese car buyers because of the high taxes of imported component parts. However, recent developments seem to suggest that Toyota has finally cracked China's great wall of resistance.
Toyota has decided to locally manufacture the powertrain components of its hybrid car in China. These include the car motor and battery packs. This will bring down the price of Toyota hybrids significantly. In addition, the Chinese government is now emphasizing the importance of using hybrid cars for them to hit their bold emission targets by 2020. Being on the hybrid forefront, Toyota is now showing other car makers that hybrids cars are feasible and profitable in the Chinese market.
A Hybrid Power Generating System Is Being Tested In Japan
Perhaps as an additional step forward, Toyota Motor Corp. has also started trials on a power generation system that combines the use of solid oxide fuel cells and micro gas turbines with its own hybrid power generation system. The power unit is being tested in the company's Motomachi Plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Toyota hopes to improve the system's performance, energy efficiency, durability and achieve its emission objectives.
The Toyota power generation unit has a rated output of 250 kW. This generator also uses combined heat and power otherwise known as cogeneration system where the waste heat produced during power generations is reused. The generator's two-stage power system achieves 55 percent generating efficiency. It also increases the unit's overall efficiency by 65 percent. How this hybrid system will transmigrate to hybrid cars is still uncertain at this time.
