Market mature 1998 hybrid electric vehicles
Beginning in 1990, the major automotive passenger vehicle manufacturers once again re-evaluated the potential of the battery powered electric vehicle (EV). This intensive effort to reduce the battery EV to commercial practice focused attention on the key issue of limited vehicle range, resulting from the low energy density and high mass characteristics of batteries, in comparison to the high energy density of liquid hydrocarbon (HC) fuels. Consequently, by 1995, vehicle manufacturers turned their attention to hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). This redirection of EV effort was highlighted finally, in 1997, at the 57th Frankfurt Motor Show, the Audi Duo parallel type hybrid was released for the domestic market as a 1998 model vehicle. Also at the 1997 32nd Tokyo Motor Show, the Toyota Hybrid System (THS) Prius was released for the domestic market as a 1998 model vehicle. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the key features of these two 1998 model year production hybrid propulsion systems. Among the conclusions, two issues are evident: one, the major manufacturers have turned to the hybrid concept in their search for solutions to the key EV issues of limited range and heating/air conditioning; and, two, the focus is now on introducing hybrid EV for test marketing domestically.
- Research Organization:
- FW Lilly Inc., Bloomfield Hills, MI (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20000191
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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