Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Curious if you had prior knowledge of this development, or rely on public information?
Also curious of the battery capacity, and why NiMh? As far as I know, that chemistry doesn't have a higher C rating for charging/discharging than lithium ion chemistries. I'd think ability to quickly charge/discharge would be among the primary characteristics of a small hybrid battery in a heavy truck.
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I have no prior knowledge on Toyota and everything I post is based on public knowledge. I’m not going to get fired for sharing inside information even though my position gives me a lot of knowledge about my company’s future plans. (I know our product plans and GHG credit strategy for the next decade.)
My guess as to why Toyota is using Ni-MH.
1. It is cheap and they have decades of prior experience. Japanese companies tend to be conservative and go with what they know
2. Toyota has a joint venture with Panasonic that has multiple plants building Ni-MH batteries for hybrids. Production Capacity isn’t an issue.
3. It works. They’re don’t need real high discharge rates and with a truck space and weight isn’t an issue. This is a relatively mild hybrid with a single motor that generally is there to boost performance