Toyota Comments on Cost Reduction of 4th-gen Prius

i don't see any corners cut on the gen IV so far.

 

as far as I know, its only sold as a set (minus battery of course)

 

Nor a starter, nor an alternator.

 

I don't think that the replacement part price of the Prius transaxle tells us much at all about what it costs to make. As it's unique, it's not like an standard automatic transmission where if you charge double what your competition do, you are going to have a big problem with your customers. I think that in this case, the amount of material and the number of separate pieces that have to be machined and assembled are a much more reliable guide. Post 37 portrays this pretty clearly.

 

Prius is saving on moving (mechanical) parts. The engine is simple NA with port injection (does Gen4 have DI?) and transmission is simple PSD. No clutch, no transmission, no sophisticated turbo engine, no complex gas after treatment, no belt driven accessories ...

But of course what it saves it then takes back with the hybrid components, but I think the main reason for success of HSD is the very fact that it saves a lot of conventional car stuff and in the end the price premium is not that big. There is actually no price premium if you are comparing it to a double clutch AT with a nice torquey turbo engine, let alone a diesel engine.

One of the main fails other car manufactures are doing is that they are keeping all their conventional components and on top of that they are trying to do a hybrid - this is complete no-go. One of the examples is a diesel hybrid from PSA that is said to be discontinued. There is some kicking from the PHEV department (Golf GTE, A3 e-tron) but I have my doubts about this kind of solutions.

I also doubt that 48V mild hybrid will ever be a hit, it just gets so complicated that there is no much sense in going that route.

 

Also the PSA Hybrid-air project is stuck between partnerships and cost issues. IMPOV it will not be produced.

Going mainstream with new tech ocurred only once, with Prius!

 

48v mild hybrids make sense when combined with MT and light platform, something like Mitsubishi Mirage, gen1 Insight or even Spark/Versa platforms. Cheap, light, simple and good enough for regen recovery. In bigger cars it just doesn't make sense.

 

you can't make anything cheaper than a ford explorer.

 

in a different field, whenever a unified architecture is attempted to be created to be used with wildly differing products, it has always ended with 1) mediocre products 2) increased cost and complexity 3) and in a few cases outright failure of the project.

can't imagine automotive engineering is too much different. "Hey, let's create a single chassis used by SUVs, mini vans, sports cars ..." = mediocre products all around in the pursuit of some cost savings.

 

That's a full misunderstanding of what "TNGA" is.

 

This article pretty much says otherwise. But hey, I'm sure some random dude on the internet knows more than an in-depth car mag artcile.

How the Toyota New Global Architecture Will Impact Mass-Car Building


BTW, MQB unified architecture has been extremely painful for VAG. The B9 audi a4 got delayed over a year and several execs lost their jobs once it became clear what a clusterf--- it was.

 

That article says nothing of the sort. Did you read it?

It's not "a single chassis used by SUVs, mini vans, sports cars" at all. It's families of parts and drive-line components, as well as manufacturing lines, to be used by many different cars and car families.

I think you should try these articles:

Toyota's massive engine overhaul
TNGA: Toyota’s New Global Platform Revealed, New Engines Coming

 

IMO, TNGA also eases the developing of every new model, because subcontractors have already parts for each core/match dimensions.

 

this is exactly how it works... cost of the vehicle is decided by marketing deparment not engineering.

Toyota has previously said that they will invest 60% of cost savings from TNGA into making cars more competitive (equipment, etc), I very much doubt they will be significantly reducing the price overall. But for instance it seems that in Japan and likely in Europe, Prius will have most advanced auto-brake system that Toyota has included in "base" vehicle.

 

This is exactly how it works... parts shared are not visible to the end customer. TNGA is mostly about easier production and easier/flexible design, it is TPS 2.0 not part sharing galore.

Daily Kanban had a nice article, Toyota showed an example of parts shared in interior - it was steering wheel and gear knob only.
Toyota’s TNGA is TPS 2.0 - Daily Kanban

Green - shared parts under TNGA
Yellow - unique parts under TNGA

 

oh boy, another vehicle is going to get the steering wheel with the bedpan?

 

Presumably as other models shift across to TNGA, they will share additional parts. The amount of sharing won't be clear until all models are TNGA and the cycle repeats.

 

okay, but the urinal should be exclusive to the peeus.

 

Bisco, I can't figure when you're kidding anymore, yesterday you were ecstatic, saying you were going to buy one as soon as the boat touched the dock, lol. Maybe you will, while holding your nose?