Shaping the future
Toyota has just sold their 15 millionth hybrid vehicle. We take a deep dive into the technology, the evolution, and analyse whether it can be a viable stepping stone before going full electric
THE PARADIGM SHIFT TOWARDS EVS is underway and there’s no turning back. Automotive communities across the globe are increasingly becoming aware of the hazards of carbon emissions and with that, the benefits of pure electric powertrains are coming to the fore. But a sudden transition towards EVs jeopardises the existing infrastructure for ICE vehicles that car makers have spent decades developing. How do you ensure a smoother transition? That’s where hybrids come into the picture, using existing ICE infrastructure while sowing the seeds for EV infrastructure. Since the 1990s, Toyota has been at the forefront of developing hybrid technology and the Japanese carmaker is the market leader with 43 per cent electrified (hybrid and pure electric) car sales being Toyota cars. The brand even hit an important milestone – selling 15 million hybrid electric vehicles globally. And it claims the present era is best suited for self-charging hybrids. Let’s use that as an example to understand why hybrids are an important step before shifting to pure EVs, especially in India.
World’s first production hybrid
In 1997, Toyota launched the world’s first petrol-electric hybrid, the Prius. It was launched a day before the Kyoto Protocol was adopted – an international treaty for climate change that set strict emission targets for various industries. Toyota overcame numerous technical and engineering challenges including the lifespan of the battery and integrating the hybrid package into a regular size engine bay. The Prius’ hybrid system was fronted by a four-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine allied to a compact electric motor, and a separate generator. The combined output was a mere 57bhp, but with a claimed fuel economy of 27kmpl, the effectiveness of this hybrid setup was proven, and this laid the foundations for the next generation of Toyota’s hybrids.
Understanding hybrids
For this, let’s take the example of the Camry Hybrid. Its 2.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine runs an Atkinson cycle which uses the same four-stroke principle like regular Otto cycle engines, but with a twist. In a regular Otto cycle engine, the intake valve stays closed when the piston moves up on its compression stroke, creating pressure in the cylinder. In an Atkinson-cycle engine, the intake valve stays open slightly longer, thus effectively reducing the displacement during the intake stroke while retaining the full ratio of expansion during the compression/ power stroke. This has many benefits including better economy and more efficiency. In fact, this 2.5-litre engine has a 41 per cent thermal efficiency – the highest in a mass-produced petrol engine.
Moving on to the hybrid setup, the Camry Hybrid’s engine is paired to a 118bhp PMSM motor, which is fed by a nickel metal hydride battery. It’s designed to deliver a synergy between the two power sources. When the engine is running, it charges the battery via the generator. The battery obviously powers the car’s electricals, but also boosts efficiency and performance. It takes load off the engine at cruising speeds to save fuel, while filling in torque under hard acceleration to boost performance. In slow-moving traffic, the generator can even cut out the petrol engine and drive the car purely on electric power for zero-emissions travelling. Then there’s the sophisticated power control unit, acting as the brain of the system. It can sense when the car is stopped and switches off the engine to cut emissions, automatically starting up again when needed.
Why are hybrids important for India?
In the post lockdown months, make-in-India initiatives are witnessing a stronger push and it’s a great time for the economy to reset its trajectory towards sustainable development. The massive automotive sector, that constitutes for 27 per cent of the industrial GDP and 15 per cent of overall GST collections represents a huge market that can quickly transition towards hybrid technologies before going full electric. Manufacturing hybrids doesn’t hamper existing ICE setups and they only need certain modifications. So, with the existing capacities, incorporating hybrids is certainly an attainable target.
Hybrids are an important stepping stone – think of them as a gateway to higher levels of electrification in cars. Many components in hybrids are shared with pure EVs and scaling up the demand for hybrids will make investing in EV technologies more viable by spreading out the investment and also delivering more volume. Thanks to the self-reliant nature of hybrids three major problems are eliminated – charging time, charging infrastructure and range anxiety. According to the International Centre for Automotive Technology, hybrids run on electric power 60 per cent of the time and 40 per cent of the distance, proving to be cleaner, quieter and more fuel efficient.
A mix of technologies for the future
An important element to note is that carmakers do not need to be biased only towards hybrid technology. According to Toyota, the future will be a mix of technologies based on consumer’s needs. For small car buyers who will look at travelling shorter distances and pottering around city traffic, Battery Electric Vehicles will clearly be at the forefront, especially with the expected drop in battery prices and with more charging infrastructure being put in place. For intercity travel in larger vehicles, Toyota is vouching for self-charging hybrids and PHEVs. And for commercial vehicles it is actually the complex hydrogen fuel cell technology that makes sense. Even in 2040, there will be a great amalgamation of these technologies.
They are all sister technologies and they are complementary to each other. So if there’s an increase in the sales of hybrids, it will invariably also push up the sales of electrics, because of increased scale and thus cost economics of the electric components that both use.
The role of policy
Broad acceptance of self-charging hybrids is a stepping stone into future development of the EV ecosystem and it is a great way of understanding how electric motors and ICEs function, especially for those who are hesitant to make the transition. And that’s where state intervention matters. Slotting hybrids under the lower GST slabs, 18 per cent for small hybrid cars and 28 per cent for large ones, according to Toyota, will not only encourage the masses to opt for hybrid cars but also encourage carmakers to expand their investment towards sustainable technologies.
A case in point is Thailand, where taxation is around carbon emissions and manufacturers are free to use whatever technologies they want. Many developed nations followed a similar approach in their initial phases of electrification and some are even following it now. For India to become an EV manufacturing hub, suitable policies will be the key. If not, the investors will be lured in by different markets, in a dispassionate manner with limited capital to go around. And for a developing country like India with massive growth potential, opportunities like these should not be missed.
With the economy rebuilding from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact and with fuel prices skyrocketing to all time highs, now is a good time to reset the trajectory towards a cleaner future. This can start with a push for wider adoption of hybrids as an ideal interim solution – one that can lead to an immediate drop in both emissions and fuel consumption – while a gradual scaling up of investments happen in EV powertrain components with a goal towards wider adoption of electrics in the future, meeting the government’s twin objectives of self sufficiency and local manufacturing.