Factory backed Prius Plug-in on sale

This story first appeared in the March issue of EVTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Toyota New Zealand has secured a small fleet deal for Signature-class versions of the plug-in Prius Hybrid – and have put it on sale to the public, too.

General manager sales and dealer operations Steve Prangnell confirmed the sales at the launch of the new model Prius in Palmerston North last month.

The company says the outgoing model was never made available to them as a plug-in – although three were landed to test – and so far there is no plug-in available yet of the new version.

If there was, Prangnell says they certainly would like to have it.

For now, they have invested in a programme to import used vehicles from Japan, with cars newer than 2012 with less than 20,000km on them.

A key part of the project is ensuring the cars information screens read in English.
“They leave Thames (Toyota’s refurbishment centre) refurbished with the English dash conversion done, and carry a 5-year warranty, including battery and powertrain.”

The cars retail in the ‘mid $30s’.

Mighty River Power are purchasing a number of the cars, with one delivered, with an indication of 20 in total.

So far Toyota has acquired 16 cars, with an initial target of 20.

The cars are available for purchase by anyone through the Toyota dealer network.

The 4.4kW lithium-ion battery in the plug-in gives it a range of 16-24km, according to Toyota figures, although Japanese official test cycle says 26km, and US authorities say only 11km.

The car runs in a blended-mode under electric power, with a restricted top speed of 100km/h, and the petrol engine will cut in if significant acceleration is summoned.