Commercial sales of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) aren’t slated to begin until 2012, but five of the high-efficiency vehicles are already in use in New York City as part of the automaker’s 600-vehicle-strong global demonstration fleet.
“New York City has one of the world’s most aggressive and comprehensive sustainability plans—PlaNYC, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030,” said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Reaching our goal means having a more efficient vehicle fleet, and Toyota continues to be a great partner for City government, which has the world’s largest fleet of hybrid vehicles. I want to thank Toyota for making us a part of the Plug-in Hybrid vehicle program and generously providing these cars at no cost to the taxpayer.”
And you can be sure plenty of retail customers will be thanking the company too once they get their turn in the plug-in Prius. Building on the same foundation that helps the current Prius achieve stellar EPA ratings of its own, the Prius PHV packs new technology that will provide drivers with approximately 13 miles of all-electric driving range at speeds of up to 62 mph. But there’s no need for any range anxiety with the Prius PHV, because it operates just like a “regular” Prius once its batteries are depleted: That means it has the ability to travel hundreds of more miles while still turning up an EPA line of 51 mpg city/48 mpg highway/50 mpg combined.
Of course, when you do need to re-charge the Prius PHV, it takes just three hours using a standard 110-volt outlet or only 90 minutes with a 220-volt setup.
“Toyota and New York City share a commitment to building a more environmentally sustainable future for New York, making this Prius Plug-in Hybrid partnership a natural fit,” said Yoshi Inaba, president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. “As we strive to bring advanced-technology and alternative-fuel vehicles to market that will not only benefit our customers but also the environment, these real-world partnerships are critical to the success of the program.”
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