Toyota May Add Solar Panels to Next Prius

Reuters is crediting an anonymous source in reporting that Toyota will add solar panels to an uplevel trim of the next Prius hybrid. The solar panels will power just the air conditioning. The source said it’s “more of a symbolic gesture. It’s very diffucult to power much more than that with solar energy.”

The next-generation Prius will be released next year. Solar panels were integrated into Toyota’s A-BAT concept shown at this year’s Detroit auto show. The compact pickup hybrid was a favorite of ours. You can check out a video of it here, where we point out the solar panels placed on the dashboard. There was no word on where the panels would be placed in the Prius.

We’d bet that the solar panels are indeed a symbolic gesture because the cost would most likely prohibit mass adoption at this stage. However, air conditioning is one of the most mileage-taxing systems in any car.

Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius hybrids (Guardian)

More Prius News (KickingTires)

Comments

I wonder if they could do the entire roof in solar cells, much like some cars that already have black glass roofs. Perhaps a portion could be glass and a portion solar cells. With solar technology improving I bet it could actually make some difference.

The bigger question is will the new Prius have Li Ion batteries.

LM,
I believe all the next gen hybrids from Honda, Toyota, GM, Audi etc are supposed to be Lithium Ion.

I recall reading that Toyota would not be using Li-ion batteries in this next generation Prius but that they would change over to Li-ion after the batteries are fully developed.

There's little reason to use Li-ion batteries in a car that can't be plugged in. The main advantage of Li-ion is energy density (for longer range). If the batteries are just being charged by the engine range doesn't matter. Li-ion batteries are more expensive and require a lot of control circuitry which further increases the price. I think they're better off with NiMH

I may indeed be thinking of the plug ins, but Audi is definitely waiting on Lithium Ion for its a4 hybrid

I'm not sure "japs" is a good word to use. I think its very derogatory.

I deleted that comment. Please don't use derogatory language in the comments. it will be deleted. Thanks LM.

It's a cinch they'll use the roof for the solar cells, which would provide enough area for 300 to 400 watts of electric power under optimal conditions.

This new car is so awesome... I really like toyota much better now :)