We'll have to wait an extra six months to see if the new Prius looks anything like the Hybrid-X concept (pictured).
If you?ve been waiting for an all-new Prius, get ready to wait an extra six months. According to news reports, Toyota has delayed the launch of the third-generation hybrid to the spring of 2009.
This comes after the announcement in May that early versions of the new Prius will not be equipped with lithium-ion batteries. Toyota and battery supplier Panasonic EV claim issues pertaining to initial cost and thermal safety (read: fire hazard) have yet to be addressed.
Although the Prius launch has no official time frame, the debut is rumored for spring 2008. Representatives from Toyota refuse to comment on the launch, stating it?s impossible to delay a plan which has no set timing.
General Motors, meanwhile, is reportedly quite pleased at the Prius problems because it will likely mean that it can beat Toyota to market with a lithium-ion battery-based vehicle. GM is investing massive resources in development of lithium-ion batteries and the Volt, an electric vehicle that uses lithium-ion batteries charged by either a plug-in source or by an on-board generator or fuel-cell.
GM has set up a design staff with specific orders to focus on Volt design, and this week announced plans to redeploy hundreds of engineers from fuel-cell development work to fuel-cell car production engineering. GM has said it intends to have the Volt ready for production by 2010.
By EVAN McCAUSLAND and BOB GRITZINGER
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