[Teruo Ikehara's monocular compound eye] Toyota's new EV that makes renewable energy by himself ... Technology to be a standard
Practical car structure that uses an accumulation of electric vehicles
Toyota Motor announced the details of the BZ4X, the first electric vehicle (BEV = battery EV), which sells around the world in mid -2022.Utilizing the accumulation of technical vehicles that have been cultivated so far, such as the long life of the battery, the company's unique (plactical) car construction unique to the company is seen everywhere.Above all, the "Roof Solar Panel", which is an option setting that creates an electricity of 1800 km per year, is attractive.
The new series of BEV is based on joint development with Subaru (Subaru), and launches a dedicated platform (vehicle stand) based on Toyota's electric vehicle architecture "E-TNGA" and launches a 4WD car (4-wheel drive (4-wheel drive).The car) has collected technologies that both companies are good at, such as adopting Subaru's AWD technology.
"BZ", which is the name of the car, is an abbreviation of "Beyond Zero", and Toyota entrusts the "value beyond just zero emissions" to the new series.The first "BZ4X" is a mid -sized SUV, but by 25 years, seven models will be launched in this series to make a full line.The car name is the same as BZ, the number indicates the body size, and the last alphabet is used in vehicles such as sedans and SUVs.
The capacity (total power) of the battery (lithium -ion battery) that affects the performance and cost of BEV is 71 in "BZ4X"..4kWh.The existing model is a larger car as "RAV4", so it has enough batteries.The mileage per charging (in -house measurement value in WLTC mode) is about 500 km for FWD (front -wheel drive vehicles), 4WD cars around 460 km, so you can go out without worrying about whether there is a charging station.
Developed the technology that runs with solar power generation established in Prius PHEV
At the same time, there are also initiatives in which these electric expenses (equivalent to the fuel economy of engine vehicles) do not fluctuate greatly depending on the season.In BEVs, there is a problem that the energy consumption of heating is particularly reduced in winter cruising range.This is because the hot water of a radiator, which is a by -product, like a gasoline car, cannot be used for heat sources and depends on electricity.In the BZ4X, in addition to the pursuit of aerodynamic performance and the weight reduction of electric units, the improvement of energy -saving heating such as heat pump air conditioners and the radiant heater at the front seat foot is improved.
He also pursues the long battery performance.The goal of development was that the capacity maintenance rate of 10 years after the use or the mileage of 240,000 km (when reached any of the first) is 90 % of the world's top level.In this way, the company's knowledge, which has been working on hybrid vehicles (HEVs) and battery development and production since the 1990s, is reflected in BZ4X.
The roof solar panel with a focusing solar power unit is one of them.This was adopted in the second -generation Prius PHEV (plug -in hybrid car) released in February 2017.The electricity generated at the time of parking is stored in a driving battery, and the power generation is supplied to a supplementary battery such as lighting and audio.This was the world's first use of solar power generation in mass -produced vehicles for driving energy.
A unique entity with the "independent power" of making recycled energy
Mr. Hiroshi Toshima, Chief Engineer of Toyota's in -house organization "Toyota ZEV Factory" and also director of the "Prius" series, said, "I wanted to build a PHEV that I didn't need to charge.Although it can be driven, this time it was 1800 km by incorporating technology evolution. In Japan, running 10,000 km a year is common, so nearly 20 % can be run with renewable energy. "
The roof solar panel is encouraging because the car itself does not only run with the electricity created by the car, but also when the energy supply is cut off in the event of a disaster.According to Toyota, the power generation capacity of the solar panel is 0 for the Prius PHEV..It is 179kW, but in "BZ4X", about 25 % increased 0.It is 225kW.Regarding the annual driving distance, "the company is calculated in -house calculation in WLTC mode, based on the annual average of 10 years of sunshine data in Nagoya City."
When viewed in the environmental impact of the manufacturing process, the roof of the solar panel has more energy than the roof painted with a normal steel plate.From the viewpoint of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), the conditions for the roof of the solar panel to have an environmental impact are greatly affected by the usage environment, so it is difficult to calculate with the author's power.However, by using it for a long time, it can definitely contribute to CO2 reduction, and it is attractive to save electricity and lose power.
In the case of the Prius PHEV, the option cost (including tax) with solar panel is 286,000 yen, so it will probably cost more than 300,000 yen for "BZ4X".BEVs with a certain "independence" of creating renewable energy can become unique.I want you to set the BZ series following "BZ4X", and I have a feeling that it will grow as a standard optional technology.