DETROIT -- The next Toyota Prius will get "significantly better fuel economy in a more compact package that is lighter weight and lower cost," the Prius program's chief engineer said.
"The performance of this next generation of powertrains will reflect significant advances in battery, electric motor and gas engine technologies," Toyota managing officer Satoshi Ogiso said at a company hybrid vehicle event outside Detroit.
Toyota has earned the mantle as the world's greenest automaker, thanks to the success of its hybrid vehicles like the Prius. The second generation of the Prius was introduced in 2003 and the next redesign came out six years later. Toyota has sold more than 5 million hybrid vehicles globally since the launch of the Prius.
While the hybrid components will be shrunk in the next-generation Prius, the size and interior packaging of the vehicle itself is not getting smaller, Ogiso said.
As for fuel economy, Toyota is looking at improving its current 4.7 liters per 100km (50 mpg U.S./60 mpg UK) to near 4.2 liters per 100km (55 mpg U.S./66 mpg UK), although Ogiso equated improving Prius fuel economy by 10 percent to that of Usain Bolt shaving a full second off the world-record 100-meter dash.
Although Ogiso declined to confirm launch timing, he said Prius cycles have traditionally have been six years long -- which would make for a 2015 launch.
While he declined to discuss future product plans, Ogiso said the Prius family does not necessarily need to expand further than it already has. Toyota added the larger Prius V in 2011 and the smaller Prius C last year, as well as a more expensive Prius Plug-In version.
Ogiso said the next-generation of the plug-in model, which also was introduced last year, will be developed in parallel with the standard hybrid version.
He said Toyota is considering consumer requests for additional all-electric driving range and is developing a new wireless-inductive charging system that would allow consumers to recharge the car's electric battery without a cable. He said Toyota will begin verification of that system next year
Ogiso said the next-generation hybrid batteries will have higher energy density. Toyota is developing current lithium-ion and nickel-metal-hydride battery technologies, as well as future batteries based on solid-state, lithium-air and magnesium chemistries.
The next-generation Prius electric motors will provide more power in a smaller package, while the gasoline engine will be more efficient. The engine will have thermal efficiency above 40 percent, which would make it the world's most efficient, Ogiso said at a global press briefing here.
Ogiso said Toyota will also begin testing in 2014 a wireless battery charging system, without need for a cable, for a future plug-in Prius.
The Prius will be the lead vehicle for Toyota's New Global Architecture platform - to be shared with sister Toyota vehicles from the Corolla to the Camry - with a lower center of gravity and increased structural rigidity, Ogiso said. He did not provide details on the improved interior, ease of operation or additional safety technologies.
Fuel-cell technology
Ogiso also reaffirmed that Toyota's first commercially available hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will go on sale globally in 2015.
Toyota is making advances in hydrogen fuel-cell technology. The fuel cell vehicle, to be unveiled at November's Tokyo Motor Show, develops 3kW per liter of power density in its fuel cell stack.
Supercapacitor technologies seen in Toyota's TS030 Le Mans racecar are being investigated as well. While very quick to charge and discharge powerful bursts of electrical energy, which makes them perfect for sports car applications, their energy storage capacity must be improved for it to work in a street-legal car, Ogiso said.
