Community | January 01, 2009 | 14 comments

Toyota developing solar powered cars

source: http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20081231/495c4dd0_3ca6_15526200901011844638978

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SeaJade
A light at the end of the tunnel? Hopefully this will be sooner rather than later!

Report: Toyota developing solar powered green car
By YURI KAGEYAMA (AP Business Writer)
From Associated Press
January 01, 2009 2:31 AM EST
TOKYO - 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 automaker later hopes to develop a model totally powered by solar cells on the vehicle, the newspaper said without citing sources.

The solar car is part of efforts by Japan's top automaker to grow during hard times, The Nikkei said.

In December, Toyota stunned the nation by announcing it will slip into its first operating loss in 70 years, as it gets battered by a global slump, especially in the key U.S. market. The surging yen has also hurt the earnings of Japanese automakers.

Still, Toyota is a leader in green technology and executives have stressed they won't cut back on environmental research despite its troubles.

Toyota, the manufacturer of the Lexus luxury car and Camry sedan, has already begun using solar panels at its Tsutsumi plant in central Japan to produce some of its own electricity.

The solar panels on the roofs add up in size to the equivalent of 60 tennis courts and produce enough electricity to power 500 homes, according to Toyota. That reduces 740 tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions and is equal to using 1,500 barrels of crude oil.


Toyota is also likely to indirectly gain expertise in solar energy when its partner in developing and producing hybrid batteries, Panasonic Corp., takes over Japanese rival Sanyo Electric Co., a leader in solar energy, early next year
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14 comments // Toyota developing solar powered cars

  • Mr_Costello
    • 0
      Mr_Costello  

    • Great News, It their shows their research and develop department has been working the problem, unlike most auto companies who are working the public.

    • 3 years ago
  • SDLN
  • PlatoTacius
    • 0
      PlatoTacius  

    • This is brilliant... A major corporation thumbing their proverbial nose at 'Big Oil'... Well, it's about time... they will definitely sell a lot of those...

      Let's see if the 'big three' are smart enough to follow Toyota's visionary lead...

    • 3 years ago
  • freeus
    • 0
      freeus  

    • I live in Tucson and would love to have a car that charges it's batteries during the day while I'm at work.

      The sun is offering us free energy. It's about time we start using it.

    • 3 years ago
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  

    • They may design it but will they have the nerve to go against the entrenched power (oil). Will they actually sell it to us ? Hope so .

    • 3 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • spacious
    • 0
      spacious  

    • It's terrific to see a major corporation investing into renewable technology in response to a market slump. Go Toyota Go !!!

      Hope I can afford the car when they come out with it.

    • 3 years ago
  • blackdaylight
    • 0
      blackdaylight  

    • universities & garage scientists have been working on high performance solar cars for decades.
      i guess we should give toyota props for being the first major international car company to wake up to the infinite possibilities of a gasoline free future.

    • 3 years ago
  • petarro
    • 0
      petarro  

    • It's really simple!!! This is the car we need:

      1. Allow Diesel as fuel.
      2. Allow Electricity charged batteries as fuel.
      3. Allow batteries to be charged by Solar Panels too.
      4. Install mini wind power generators to also charge the batteries. (Inside ventilation system or heat dissipation).

      You will have everything and will help everyone move and make oil obsolete!

    • 3 years ago
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • maisry
    • 0
      maisry  

    • This car would work GREAT in my driveway in SoCal where it's so sunny I burn myself when I touch my car. I'll just stay home on the two days a year that it rains.

    • 3 years ago
  • EddieStarr
  • SeaJade
    • 0
      SeaJade  
    • Image

    • Writer/Director Chris Paine's documentary feature film Who Killed the Electric Car? premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 before its release by Sony Pictures to critical acclaim in 100 U.S. markets. The film was the third highest-grossing theatrical documentary of 2006 and screened with An Inconvenient Truth in many markets.
      Currently in wide DVD release, Paine’s film investigates the events leading to the quiet destruction of thousands of new, radically efficient electric vehicles. Through interviews and narrative, the film paints a picture of an industrial culture whose aversion to change and reliance on oil may be deeper then its ability to embrace ready solutions.
      Who Killed the Electric Car? and Chris Paine were nominated by the Writer's Guild for Best Documentary of 2006. The film also received nominations from The Broadcast Critics Awards and The Environmental Media Awards for Best Documentary of 2006. The film won the audience award at the Canberra International Film Festival and won a special jury prize at the Mountain Film Festival.

    • 3 years ago
  • SeaJade
    • 0
      SeaJade  

    • The Alternative Car Expos have been popping up in major cities, if you have a chance to go next time one is near you, go. A great place to learn about our current choices!

    • 3 years ago
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