Back in 1997, Toyota started the electric revolution in the motor industry launching its first hybrid vehicle, Prius, and with it, the first electric car that doesn’t need to be charged. The pioneering hybrid technology represented their vision for the future mobility of the 21st century, and Toyota has proven right and ahead of its time, with electric and hybrid mobility being currently top priorities for so many other manufacturers.
This year Toyota celebrates 20 years of Toyota hybrid technology and over ten-and-a-half million hybrids on the road, one-and-a- half million of these in Europe. Since the launch of the first hybrid Prius, this innovative technology is now made available on the 16 core Toyota models, making use of seven different hybrid powertrains. And Toyota engineers certainly did not rest on their laurels: Toyota keeps on pushing the boundaries of the hybrid technology, in order to suit different customer needs and driving scenarios.
As a result, cutting-edge hybrid variations are still being developed, such as the plug-in hybrid with a charging mechanism in order to increase the battery capacity, available on the new Prius PHV. The ultimate disruptive innovation of the hybrid technology is their first zero-emission fuel cell car, Mirai, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell stack instead of the combustion engine, symbol of their environmental challenge and commitment to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions by 90%, by 2050.
