Toyota Estima Hybrid Sums Up Future of Vehicle Technology at Tokyo Motor Show

    TOKYO--Oct. 24, 2001--Toyota Motor Corporation's mass-produced and marketed gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles on exhibit at the 35th Tokyo Motor Show include a new 4-wheel drive minivan and luxury sedan, to complement the popular Prius which is now available in Hong Kong (special administrative region of China), Singapore and Australia, as well as Japan, North America and Europe.
    The Estima Hybrid, sold in Japan since June, is the world's first hybrid minivan and first mass-produced hybrid 4-wheel drive vehicle. Advanced "brake by wire" technology is at the heart of a revolutionary vehicle dynamics management system that provides road hugging stability and sporty agility unheard of in a minivan. In addition, the Estima's hybrid powerplant can generate up to 1,500 watts of auxiliary 100-volt AC, making it ideal for emergency vehicle or mobile office applications. Telematics and ITS (Intelligent Transport System) functions add safety, convenience and entertainment benefits.
    Developed over a mere two and half year period, everything about the Estima Hybrid is new, except its name and body shape. Even its hybrid system is a departure from that used in the Prius. Instead of a planetary gear, the Estima Hybrid uses a CVT (continuously variable transmission) in a compact front transaxle to transmit main motor energy, and adds a rear transaxle which combines a second motor and differential gear in a single unit, for a lightweight, compact structure that enables 4-wheel drive without a driveshaft. The Estima Hybrid can cruise 1,000 kilometers on one tank of gas, for double the fuel efficiency of Japan's 2010 standards, and one quarter the HC and NOx levels of Japan's latest regulations.
    The most recent hybrid to appear in Toyota showrooms is the Crown Royal, introduced in Japan in August. This luxury sedan employs Toyota's THS-M "mild hybrid" system, a simpler alternative that improves fuel consumption by about 15%.
    Toyota's latest Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle, the FCHV-5, re-forms clean hydrocarbon fuel (CHF) to make hydrogen. Toyota plans a limited introduction of an improved FCHV-4, which runs on pure hydrogen, to the Japanese market in 2003.
    Toyota sees potential worldwide sales for its expanding range of hybrid vehicles reaching around 300,000 per year by 2005.