Featured Toyota: Corolla plug-in Hybrid for China in 2018

Isn't the 4 Gen Prius built on a cross platform! If so they just lay a different body on top of it? All in all its still a Prius!

 

The plug-in hybrid cars are expensive and only exist to meet political mandates, and without subsidies and artificial incentives would find very few buyers. Our American politicians enjoy sloshing public money into flashy stuff like this, but I'd expect the Chinese to be more practical. And the bulk of Chinese electricity comes from coal, so they can't even make the dubious claim that electricity (and thus electric cars) are "clean" or green. So what gives here? Or are the plug-in hybrids just for export?

 

The history is the first plug-ins were owner mods to their Gen-2 Prius.

There is credible evidence the Chinese are reducing their coal usage: China is on track for the biggest reduction in coal use ever recorded — Quartz
https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/chinas_changing_energy_mix_coal_crude_oil_natural_gas_renewables_chartbuilder.png?w=640

There is a gray area between an efficient car and all electric. Plug-ins offer a midway that appeals to some. No doubt, the Chinese will map their own way. BTW, in 2009, I saw a Chinese hybrid at the Detroit Auto Show. Compared to the Gen-3 Prius, it looked like a like a Socialist engineered prototype. Overbuilt in with lots of iron and steel … a Peoples Design Studio award winner. But there it was.

Bob Wilson

 

China has problems with metropolitan air pollution. An electric on coal may not be cleaner than an ICE car, but it does move the pollution out of the city.

 

May need to fact-check that since I know the Russians were fond of locating power plants in cities so the waste heat could be used for industrial and housing purposes. I don't know about Chinese practices in power-plant placement.

Bob Wilson

 

We did the same.

 

perhaps you haven't read the numerous articles that point out the fact that even electricity made from coal (even when there are only moderate pollution standards installed which China does have), is less polluting than running a gas only / nonhybrid car. However, that internet rumor about cars running on coal powered electricity has been passed around a lot, & many folk simply buy into it. Is that where you got your "facts"? We hear on PC are quick to ask for links when the internet rumor mill gets" sloshed" around - as you call it.

As far as hybrids only existing as a political agenda, you fail to understand the entire principle of reducing pollution. Hybrids reduce pollution. If you haven't ever been to Shanghai, for example, you can't really appreciate how important hybrids are towards achieving that goal.
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plug-in hybrid cars are expensive and only exist to meet political mandates, and without subsidies and artificial incentives would find very few buyers. - No problem as buyers don't care. They simply buy them as soon as available.

Our American politicians enjoy sloshing public money into flashy stuff like this, - The Republican House and Congress. I'm voting against Sen. Sessions, Sen. Shelby, and Congressman Mo Brooks in November. I'll also vote against President Obama even if I have to write in his name to vote against him. You should try the same.

I'd expect the Chinese to be more practical. - Good plan, support the Communist!

And the bulk of Chinese electricity comes from coal, so they can't even make the dubious claim that electricity (and thus electric cars) are "clean" or green. So what gives here? - Well the Chinese Communists are reducing their coal consumption.

Or are the plug-in hybrids just for export? - Great, where do I buy one? I need an address and phone number. BTW, do you know where those landfills full of Prius traction batteries are located? I still have my shovel but I am not having any luck finding them.​

Bob Wilson

 

Okay, I didn't say hybrids only exist as a political agenda; I said plug-in hybrids only exist as a political agenda. I bought a Prius C (and paid a small premium for it) because I love a thrifty, reliable car. And since it burns less fuel per mile, all other things being equal, it will pollute less and emit less CO2. But back to plug-in hybrids...Okay, the price premium of the plug-in Prius versus the ordinary Prius was, what?, $7,000 or so? That number could be wrong; correct me if you've got it. And for that you got, what?, something like 12 miles of all-electric cruising. That makes the plug-in a stupid car, and only someone with money to burn, or a government with money to burn, can afford to buy a vehicle that costs so much more and delivers so little utility. And I don't have to mention the price of a Tesla, or even a Leaf, which only looks cheap compared to a Tesla. That's why I point out the obvious: That at this time, electric vehicles are overpriced toys for rich people, and are subsidized by normal people who just want a cheap, basic car. So the real strength of plug-in cars as pollution fighters is that they're unaffordable, and the car you can't afford doesn't pollute at all. Maybe at some point in the future they'll actually be able to produce plug-in cars at a cost that people can afford, and then these cars will make sense. Right now, the electrics are just a boondoggle and a payoff to political cronies. Neat toys, and I wouldn't mind owning a Tesla if I had nothing better to do with my money. But senseless for other than specialized uses.