Sales manager of Toyota T&T Limited Jean La Foucade expects competition in the new car market to accelerate now that the company has launched two more hybrid vehicles. The newly introduced hybrids are the 1.5L Prius C which sells for $220,000 and 1.8L Prius at $320,000.
Hybrids have two type of engines–the conventional combustion engine with fuel tank and an electric motor with battery pack.
La Foucade, in an interview with the Business Guardian at Toyota's Barataria headquarters, said auto manufacturer's hybrid vehicles are popular globally, particularly in the United States where the hybrids are marketed as environmentally friendly vehicles. He said demand for such vehicles is now developing locally as the consumers are becoming more aware of the need for them.
La Foucade said Toyota's hybrid vehicles have been in the T&T market for more than five years, starting with the $499,000 2.5L Toyota Camry and the 3.5 L Toyota V6 Lexus which sells for $890,000.
He said brand loyalty for Toyota in the T&T market means that cost will not be a hindrance to motorists purchasing any of the company's vehicles.
He said the import duty is the main reason for the increased cost of Toyota's hybrids as it is calculated on a percentage base. Other contributors to the increased cost are the motor vehicle tax and VAT which tends to be around $37,000.
La Foucade said one of the key features in the Toyota hybrids is the "start and stop" ignition system
He explained: "With your starter motor (in a regular vehicle) when you start you need fuel which will go into the engine, causes combustion and that's what actually turns over the engine. You need fuel again. But with the start and stop feature you start off (using) the motor generator so there is no fuel needed, that's one aspect of it.
"The second aspect is the regenerative braking system. You burn most fuel in stand-still traffic, because of the stop and go. The fuel in conventional engines goes into the cylinder, the cylinders opens up, the fuel goes in, that's how you move."
He said special features in hybrid vehicles limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and this is a big selling point for those vehicles.
However he pointed out, not all hybrids are the same.
"There are four types of hybrid engines. There is the plug in, which is one where you must have an actual outlet to plug in the vehicle to charge the battery. That mainly runs off the electricity which we (Toyota) don't have. Our systems would not allow it because it is a different voltage and T&T is not ready for that yet."
He added: "What we have in our hybrid vehicles is the series parallel. The series parallel has two elements which are the conventional engine with gas and the electrical motor. The two elements both feed into the transmission and this is where the synergy system comes in. They both feed into the transmission via separate parts."
This means that the motorist, at any one time, can be utilising the motor in the hybrid car versus using gas or vice versa.
"If it is you are moving on your electric motor alone, it is limited to a certain speed, that's a safety thing. Let's say you are driving between 40 and 60 kph you could be driving with your electric motor.
"What will happen is that the battery will die and the engine will kick in. It takes half and hour for the battery to regenerate and once the battery is regenerated, it goes back into electric mode again. Basically, if it is you fill up your engine with fuel, depending on your drive style, you may not have to fill up for a next month and a half, depending."
La Foucade said the synergy system in hybrid cars "increases your horsepower because you now have two working as one, because it incorporates two engines into one. It enhances the performance of the vehicle."
Asked about servicing, he said: "The use of the vehicle is not like your conventional engine where it's constantly on. Servicing comprises oil changes within three-month period."