Toyota Developing a 200-km Plug-in Hybrid

In an announcement made by Toyota’s Executive Vice President last night, it was revealed that the company is now in the process of developing plug-in hybrid technology that will enable pure-electric range figures of more than 200 kilometers (124 miles). No matter which test cycle that number was achieved through (Toyota won’t say), it is still a massive jump over the best available today.

For reference, there are currently over 30 plug-in hybrids available in the U.S. Newer supercars that employ the technology don’t even crest 10 miles of electric range, while vehicles like the all-new Land Rover Range Rover PHEV (as well as the Sport PHEV) can do over 50 miles. If Toyota can really pull off something with nearly triple that range, more people might finally be willing and able to drastically reduce their fossil fuel consumption. Not replace it altogether, but drastically mitigate it. In this kind of vehicle, the gas engine may never even be utilized unless it is going on a bladder-busting road trip across the middle of the country.

Toyota is calling this an endeavor to create a true “practical BEV” while simultaneously advancing its regular hybrid technology with more of a focus on quality and affordability. The company wants to be completely carbon-neutral by 2050, so even more efforts will be made to meet that challenge: starting mass-production of hydrogen fuel-cell commercial vehicles and debuting a new all-electric platform to put the bZ4X and RZ’s range and charge figures to shame.

More on this development here.