Just came back from the largest Toyota Dealer in my area. I went to find out When the Prime was going to be Launched in Canada.. (still not here yet) .. I was informed by the head salesman. The Prius Prime will only be available in Quebec & not Ontario. He informed me they have cancelled 6 pre orders And don't expect any Primes to be added to their inventory at all. He mentioned something about a new Law in Quebec. I don't know exactly what that is.. Anyone else from Ontario heard of this?
It has been reported the Prime will be sold in the rest of Canada starting next year. Probably mid to late spring. Quebec has a California style renewable energy law. I forget the exact term used. Go to Driving Television and watch this weeks show. It's mentioned there.
Yeah Quebec is passing (has passed?) legislation similar to the CARB where automakers earn credits for each electrified vehicle sold (doesn't include hybrids.. only PHEVs, BEVs and FCVs) so given that Toyota has only one of those (Mirai isn't sold in Canada), they're aggressively pushing it to bank/build up EV credits before the legislation goes into effect. Therefore, all inventory is going to QC. It'll be expanded to "other parts" of Canada early next year. I can't say where but other provinces will be added.
Why don't you come over to the US of A and I'll let you test drive mine. granted, it's not the Canadian version but I do have the Advanced
Latest update from my dealer in Vancouver (where i'm #1 on the waitlist) is Spring 2018...They had told me Spring 2017 so who knows?! not sure I'll be waiting that long as my needs may have changed by then?!
Hello , im new here ... im from QC and still waiting for my Prime since 3 week ... I just wanted to add some infos about this new law in QC : As of the 2018 model year, 3.5 % of vehicles sold in Quebec must be electric or plug-in hybrids and by 2025 it will be 22%. Each qualifying vehicle sold earns the manufacturer credits. It's pure speculation but i think that Toyota want to build up credits faster by selling the Prime in QC in the first place because electricity is very cheap in our province. Currently, there is a debate as to whether this legislation is good or not or well implemented. You see , the credits earned by a manufacturer can be traded / sold to others manufacturers who do have meet the 3.5% requirement. Consumers are worried that this could be a disguised tax because if a manufacturer needs to buy credits , the cost will be passed on to the consumers and inflate the price for a non-hybrid / plug-in vehicle.
Bonjour, 144 Prius Prime vendus en juin et 98 en juillet au Québec seulement. 144 Prius Pirme sold in june and 98 in july in Québec only. Voici un résumé de la Loi (in french only) http://www.mddelcc.gouv.qc.ca/changementsclimatiques/vze/feuillet-vze-enbref.pdf
So, in part, this "Quebec only" policy is related to building up points there. But is it also related to the lithium ion battery minimum temp.? I have heard it can be damaged below -30C. If this is true I wonder about Alaska, and if the Prime is available there. I have also heard, via a different grapevine, that Toyota is going to move to a different lithium battery, a solid one, rather than the current "paste" type. I wonder if that will mean that minimum temp. will "go away". Allowing them to confidently sell them everywhere.
In general, Li-ion batteries will be damaged by charging them at regular rates when the pack is below 0C. The solution is to charge at a very reduced rate until the process has sufficiently warmed the pack, or heat the pack up. The Prime uses the latter, and the programing for cars going to Canada and Alaska will allow more use of that heater. We have little details on Toyota's solid state batteries beyond that they can charge at a much faster rate. There are Li-ion chemistries already available that can better handle freezing temperatures. Cost and market size will likely keep these out of consumer vehicles. There is also work being done with having a smaller heater inside the cell; instead of using a heating pad, there is a resistance heater wire running through the electrolyte.
Well it just won't start up if the temperature of the hybrid battery is below -30°C (So I guess it'll take a few hours of a cold soak for that to happen, plus it's rare that it's below -30°C during the day in QC... maybe the prairies but that only lasts a week or two. The traction battery warming control tries to take care of that. If you plug the car in, the traction battery heater works first (either according to your charge timer settings or immediately if you use "Charge Now"). After 3 days, then it will switch over to the traction battery warming control (this is probably why Toyota recommends leaving the Prime parked with the battery in HV level - aside from battery longevity, it leave a buffer for the TBWC to trickle charge the HV battery to maintain temperature. It works for up to 31 days after the charging cable was connected (so 28 days after the TBH does its thing). Again, it's rare that the battery will remain below -30°C for 31 days. (That's gotta be a really bad cold snap or you live in a valley in Alaska where the cold air just sits)
That's funny Tideland. Mainly because before the 31 days the 12V battery will be dead and all will be for "nought". Unless of course, plugging it in will also "maintain" the 12V system, which as far as I can tell it doesn't. Something they missed? Oh to live in a place where the temps. are "reasonable".
Seriously? You'd think the 12V will last longer than that. (or mayeb they'll both just end at the same time). Longest I've left the car outside was 2 weeks in -20°C - car started up like a champ (ok the engine was running rough but it was fixed when I shut down and restarted... it's almost like I had to... reboot... the car)