Toyota Motor Corp. is secretly developing a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy in an effort to turn around its struggling business with a futuristic ecological car, a top business daily reported Thursday.
The Nikkei newspaper, however, said it will be years before the planned vehicle will be available on the market. Toyota’s offices were closed Thursday and officials were not immediately available for comment.
According to The Nikkei, Toyota is working on an electric vehicle that will get some of its power from solar cells equipped on the vehicle, and that can be recharged with electricity generated from solar panels on the roofs of homes.
The report said the automaker hopes the vehicle will eventually be totally powered by the solar cells—but that would take many years. Prior to that time, energy from the sun could provide only some of the power for the vehicle’s batteries and other electric accessories.
The electric motor in the third-generation Prius, due to be unveiled formally at the Detroit auto show later this month, will be powered by a nickel-metal-hydride battery, just like the current model. However, Toyota and several other automakers are working on plug-in hybrids that would use more advanced lithium-ion batteries. Nissan, meanwhile, is developing an all-electric car and Toyota is expected to unveil a compact electric vehicle concept at the Detroit show.
Toyota executives have hinted recently that they are thinking “beyond lithium-ion” in their quest to develop alternatives to gasoline engines. And the company’s efforts to harness power from the sun could get a boost when Panasonic Corp., Toyota’s partner in high-tech battery production, completes its planned takeover of Sanyo Electric Co., a leader in solar technology.
Although Toyota has enjoyed a green image with its leadership in the sale of fuel-efficient hybrids, it has also been criticized for pushing big, gas-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs. Making advances in powering a vehicle with solar energy would certainly burnish the automaker’s image with environmentalists.
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