2019 Prime not getting a larger battery?

Larger capacity shouldn't have been an expectation. Toyota wasn't about to make the same mistake as GM by increasing capacity based on enthusiast feedback. They set the 40 km (25 mile) target for good reason. Focus has been to make the plug-in hybrid offerings as well-balanced of a choice as possible. That meant placing attention elsewhere, like packaging.

We were very specifically told by Toyota that the choice of the physical size & shape of the rollout battery-pack was to keep it affordable and to retain its robust longevity design. That set an implicit expectation of a possible mid-cycle update... like 2 years later, the 2019 model. It is realistic that cell & stack arrangement has been altered to provide more cargo room. We know it will happen someday. Patience.

Another something we can surmise is a bump in charging rate. The maximum pull currently from a 240-volt connection is 3.6 kW. When you use an aftermarket device to measure Charge-Mode rate, there's an interesting reveal... as documented in the video I compiled (below) to share for a future discussion, just like this. The gas-engine provides a rate of 7.2 kW to the battery-pack. We could potentially see that in a mid-cycle update for connecting with a plug. It builds upon opportunity charging, something quite advantageous for vehicles with smaller capacities.

Lastly, keep in mind that hardware & software refinements could contribute to increased range, even without increasing the kW capacity of the battery-pack itself.

 

there has never been talk of a larger battery, except on the wishlist. batteries aren't improved enough to get more kWh in the same space, and toyota has no plans for a new PHEV prius that we know of. maybe in 2022, but i doubt it. the way sales are, they'll probably put a plug on the rav4 first

my hope would be the same range in a smaller battery, opening up the hatch, but that is also unlikely

 

How are you drawing that conclusion?

Arrangement of cells & stacks is quite realistic. We've seen it with other plug-in vehicles mid-cycle. Why not with Prime?

 

? Do you mean because Toyota is said to be changing the Prime to a 5 seat model they probably will rearrange the battery?

GM Had a double density battery in mid 2017 but instead of repacking the Volt with a smaller lighter battery from the Bolt chemistry and a real 5th seat they soldiered on as is.


On an off topic I have been loosely following this site for a Solar Prime without Luck

Vehicle Search Engine | Japan Car Direct | Best Japan used car exporter

Has anyone ever found Japanese sales figures?

Would be interesting to source a Japanese Solar car from their scratch and dent inventory.

 

Simply from history. Toyota is notoriously rigid

 

MPG was always in the 30s. When the car is in HV mode, it goes into EV when headed down hill, which allows MPG to be in the 60 MPH vicinity. While I can see the benefit of charging as you have demonstrated for cold starts, the cost to do so is relatively expensive because of the dip in mileage when in Charge Mode.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The recently-published service literature for the 2019 Prius Prime doesn’t include any changes to the battery specifications or seating capacity, just minor differences such as the new fuel system components and spark plug type also found on the 2019 Prius.

 

That has nothing to do with rate from a cord.

We can observe the faster rate from the gas-engine, so we know the battery is designed to accept faster.

 

Bisco, the realist sees the battery half empty.

I am letting my dream of an improved 2019 burn brightly into the new year.

 

but the hatch is never half empty, because even a shoebox fills it up.

 

Our luggage fits underneath just fine.

 

i'm a clotheshorse, can't get the steamer trunk in there

 

2020 would be a more realistic mid. Of course, there's no rule about when the next model year starts...

 

On the contrary: see 40 CFR 85, Subpart X, and specifically 40 CFR § 85.2303.

 

That overlooks the point being made. Because the 2019 already exists (at least enough for certification, high-volume production isn't necessary), it allows Toyota to begin the 2020 model-year anytime they want in 2019.

Prius was that way. The 2010 was rolled out in May of 2009. Highlander hybrid had a freaky short model-year once too. It was only available for a few months, then switched. We saw the next model-year rolled out in July.

So, it easy could be a matter of Toyota carefully playing their cards. The burndown of 2018 inventory and the delay of 2019 certainly give reason for pause...

 

So, a model year can include just shy of 2 calendar years. That means The 2019 Prius CANNOT legally be released this spring.
It must be released either today or tomorrow (December 31, 2018 or January 1, 2019) or be called a 2020 model.

 

True, but they CANNOT release the 2019 Prius after January 1 2019 in the US legally.