Review of the Toyota Prius Battery
The Toyota Prius remains one of the most popular and best selling hybrid automobile on the market today. Indeed, most industry analysts maintain that the Toyota Prius will retain a significant market share as far as hybrid car sales go on into the immediate future.
One of the reasons that the Toyota Prius has been such a solid seller is based on the reliability and functionality of the Toyota Prius battery.
In point of fact a good deal of time was spent developing the Toyota Prius battery. Some automotive experts contend that more time actually was spent developing the Toyota Prius battery than historically has been spent on the development of any conventional automobile component, let alone a traditional car battery product.
In reality, there actually are two batteries in operation on the Toyota Prius. Thus, when a person hears the term “Toyota Prius battery,” a person actually is referring to the two batteries that are involved in the operation of the vehicle. Technically speaking, there is the so-called traction battery (usually referred to simply as the "Toyota Prius battery") and the auxiliary 12-volt battery, which powers accessories and the car's computer, similar to a conventional vehicle. The Toyota Prius battery, the traction battery, uses Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMH) chemistry, and has been made more compact, powerful and durable as a result of the intensive efforts in designing the Toyota Prius battery.
The Toyota Prius battery is recharged by the vehicle’s regenerative braking system, which explains why the Prius never needs to be plugged in and how it gets better gas mileage in stop-and-go city traffic. "The Prius' electric motor becomes a generator, converting other wasted kinetic energy into electricity for the battery," according to the Toyota website.
Because of the manner in which the Toyota Prius battery operates, the vehicle does not need to be “plugged in.” In other words, the battery does not need to be recharged by being plugged in like older model electric automobiles that hit the market in the late 20th century.
The manufacturer intends to continue to work on advancing the technology associated with the Toyota Prius battery. Because the Toyota Prius battery is such an important component of the overall operation of this particular hybrid vehicle, it is obvious that ongoing research will play a large role in advances to be made to this vehicle on into the future.
Get the facts before you invest in a hybrid vehicle!