Even though Toyota Canada has just quietly made its Prius PHV (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle) available, the chance to see one in a showroom, let alone on the road, are slim - unless you have already pre-ordered one of them sight-unseen.
Toyota has not made a public announcement, but posted the vehicle's availability on the Toyota Canada website, toyota.ca. It's accessible only via the teaser advertisements that refresh every few seconds on the home page. It is not listed under the new vehicle pull-down menu.
People looking for more information might want to check out the Toyota USA site, toyota.com. It contains more information, including a FAQ section.
The PHV is Toyota's answer to the Chevrolet Volt, the only extended-range electric vehicle currently on the market.
The standard model will retail for $35,700 or $40,935 with a technology package. It will be available late this year - but in very limited numbers.
Local dealer Metro Toyota is the top-selling hybrid dealer in Canada. That means Metro is allocated more hybrids than other Toyota dealers. Despite that advantage, the dealer still can't be certain it will get enough cars to satisfy the four customers who have already put down deposits for the car. Simply put, don't expect to see one in the showroom anytime soon.
"The Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year really screwed up supply," said Andy Albers, new-car manager at Metro Toyota. "The PHV is a great car, but it might be 2013 before Toyota can get back on track to build them in significant numbers."
Toyota boasts the new car's all-electric range to be 22 kilometres in the city and 18 on the highway. After that, it reverts back to being a regular gasoline-electric hybrid. The PHV fuel consumption is rated at an electric equivalent of 2.0 litres/ 100 km city, 1.9 highway on EV mode and 3.7 and 4.0 on hybrid mode.
The car's lithium-ion battery can be charged via a household outlet or a dedicated 240-volt charging station.
Unlike the Volt, where the gasoline engine serves only as a generator of electricity for the battery, the PHV's gasoline engine is used to power the vehicle, not recharge the battery when depleted.
As such, the question on everybody's mind is if the vehicle will qualify for the B.C. government's $5,000 rebate for electric vehicles or the $500 incentive for the installation of the 240-volt charging station.
If it does, it will land in the middle of the regular Prius lineup, which runs between $26,000 and $34,000.
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