A dual motor/generator system, solar panels on the roof, 100 kilometres per litre and just 22g/km of CO2 emissions: thanks to its new technologies and low fuel consumption, the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid has claimed the green car of the year title.
The most eco-friendly car of the year? It's the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The Japanese carmaker's model has claimed the World Green Car Award 2017, presented at the New York International Auto Show. Last year, too, it was Toyota that took the prize, with the Mirai hydrogen saloon. The accolade goes to the Three Ellipses for the second consecutive year.
The selection of competing and winning vehicles is made by an international jury comprising 75 industry journalists from 23 countries: the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid was chosen from a shortlist of 12 vehicles produced worldwide. What won the jury over were its fuel consumption and emissions performance, the use of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies with a low environmental impact. Toyota thus extends its list of accolades received over the years: the Toyota Prius earned the "Top Three in the World" title in 2010, finishing as both World Green Car and World Car of the Year; the Toyota GT86 was then a "Top Three in the World" finalist in the 2013 World Car of the Year edition, as was the Toyota iQ in 2009.
The second generation of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid comes to market 10 years after the launch of plug-in technology. While Toyota's goal is to reduce CO2 emissions from its cars by 90 per cent by 2050 compared to 2010, the new vehicle is at the forefront from every standpoint: it features the first Toyota dual motor/generator system, the world's first air-conditioning system with a gas heat pump, and a new solar charging system on the roof. Thanks to the Prius fourth-generation hybrid engine combined with the electric system, the car delivers more than 50 kilometres of zero-emission EV range at speeds of up to 135km/h and reduces fuel consumption to one litre of petrol per 100 kilometres. The amount of CO2 produced? Just 22g/km.
The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid will be available in Italy from June: "With the hybrid we have built a movement that today counts 10 million customers worldwide, almost 150,000 in Italy, in constant and rapid growth," said Andrea Carlucci, Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Italia. "We have opened new paths for sustainable mobility of the future, with the support of institutions that have welcomed our proposals. With the Plug-in we are ready to advance new sustainable mobility projects where there is the intention to develop adequate charging infrastructure. At the moment our solution for the Italian market continues to be the Full Hybrid, a hybrid without charging, which in 2016 accounted for 45 per cent of our sales".