Toyota Prius

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, although it has taken a century for the concept of a practical hybrid car to become a reality, it is clear that the hybrid has found its time and how thanks to the improvement in hybrid system technology, the increased concerns surrounding the environment and the relatively limited supply of fossil fuels, hybrid cars are closer to mainstream than ever before. It uses as an example the Toyota Prius, the world's first volume production hybrid car and looks at how the five-passenger Prius has since become by far the world's most popular hybrid with current total sales of over 110,000 units worldwide.

Outline
Introduction and Background Information on Toyota Prius
Product Logistics
Materials Procurement System
Bill of Materials System
Intellectual Property
Patents
Trademarks
Designs
Copyrights
U.K. Market Information
Market Size and Trends
Market Segmentation
User Benefits
Performance Specifications for Improved Product
The Competition
Problems and Complaints
'Must Have' Features

From the Paper:

"The notion of a hybrid car is nothing new however Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive is, because of the way it works. In conventional hybrid cars or mild hybrids, which rarely develop further than the concept stage, the batteries were recharged either through a dynamo or simply by plugging it to a power source. The Prius however is much more sophisticated in this sense because it recharges the batteries by restoring the kinetic energy of the car which would otherwise be wasted during breaking. This is also called regenerative breaking. This makes Prius and the Hybrid Synergy Drive superior to other forms of hybrid technologies. The main component of this system is the Power Split Device (patent number: WO2004100202), which directs the kinetic energy generated during breaking to be restored in the batteries which are located at the rear section of the Prius."

More papers on Toyota Prius:

• Business Plan # 53388 : "Toyota Prius"
• Essay # 57501 : "The Toyota Prius"
• Comparison Essay # 4752 : "Comparing and Contrasting the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius"

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