Toyota Considering Making Diesel Electric Hybrid Vehicles August 2004

Diesel and Natural Gas Hybrid Variants Could Open World Markets Wider for Toyota

Toyota is considering ending the argument backed by European automakers, that internal combustion (ICE) diesel engines are equally efficient for solving environmental concerns as gasoline-electric hybrids, simply by producing diesel-electric hybrids.

Both hybrid diesel and natural gas-fuelled ICE drivetrains may become reality, designed to suit local market needs, said Senior Managing Director Hiroyuki Watanabe.

Toyota is "developing hybrid systems that can be used for gasoline, diesel, natural gas and fuel-cells, which will be the most fuel-efficient," Watanabe said in Tokyo last week.

The obvious benefit would be incorporating the advantages of modern day direct-injection common-rail diesel engines, which
offer much better fuel economy than gasoline resulting in approximately 17 percent average lower emissions, with the benefits of a hybrid drivetrain.

Hybrid drivetrains incorporate an electric motor to assist the primary gasoline engine, in the case of mild-hybrids such as Honda's Insight, Civic Hybrid and upcoming Accord Hybrid, or a gasoline engine that backs up a primary electric motor when talking about full hybrid systems, such as Toyota's Prius, the upcoming Lexus RX 400h, Highlander and Camry hybrids, as well as the Toyota hybrid powered Ford Escape Hybrid and upcoming Nissan Altima Hybrid, among others.

Both are seen as stopgaps before hydrogen-powered vehicles become reality, yet instrumental for growing the green market and
simultaneously acting as rolling test beds for the continued development of environmentally advanced vehicles.

In other words, for the next decade at least, ICE-electric hybrids are here to stay, and in the end the technologies being perfected to make them more efficient, such as the development of lighter, more efficient batteries, will be critical in ensuring a hydrogen highway one day exists.

Toyota is the unequivocal leader in hybrid development, having invested tens of millions in its first and second generation Prius, and the upcoming models it has already announced. As previously mentioned, Toyota's
hybrid technology has also been licensed to Ford and Nissan, proving that at least these two automakers feel it's easier to join the world's second-largest and most profitable automaker, making Toyota a partner, than fight it.

Combining diesel and electricity isn't completely new, however, with DaimlerChrysler's Dodge division having previously shown a concept of a diesel-electric hybrid pickup truck dubbed the Dodge Ram Contractor Special, complete with a sliding side panel that opened up to a contractor-type auxiliary power interface. While at its introduction DaimlerChrysler committed to a target production date of calendar year 2004, it still hasn't shown up. No doubt, if they did manage to make it a reality the Contractor's Special would be a popular option.

Now it's more likely that Toyota will beat DaimlerChrysler to the punch by offering something similar as an option in its
next-generation Tacoma or Tundra, plus diesel-electric or natural gas hybrid versions of its 4Runner and Sequoia, plus GX 470 and upcoming Lexus LX 470 replacement.

Although Toyota increased sales in Europe by 14 percent in the first six months of this year, creating diesel-hybrids would strengthen its hold on European markets where diesel-powered vehicles make up about 40 percent of new automobile sales and fuel prices are much more expensive than North America.

The Japanese automaker currently builds in the neighborhood of ten different diesel engines available in various
markets around the world. The European-spec Yaris, which was recently introduced in Canada as the Echo Hatchback and available in the U.S. and Canada with a trunk as the Echo, features a diesel variant, as does the Corolla, RAV4, Land Cruiser and others.

Watanabe's admission is well timed, being that diesel producers preparing to abide by a 15 ppm sulfur cap on ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) by mid-2006, mirroring the U.S. EPA's highway diesel regulation.

Rising gasoline costs would make such diesel-hybrids even more cost efficient than gasoline-electric hybrids, and environmentalists will appreciate the even lower emissions that will result.

Source: Auto123.com

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