4th-Generation Toyota Prius Teardown (Part 1)
Powertrain units miniaturized and lightened to achieve 40km/liter fuel economy
2016/02/29
- Summary
- Powertrain units improved to achieve a JC08 mode fuel economy of 40km/liter
- High performance engine with up to 40% thermal efficiency
- New structure for the hybrid transaxle (loss reduced by about 20%, length shortened by 47mm)
- Miniaturized power control unit
- Compact, high-performance lithium-ion drive battery pack
Summary
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In January 2016, the Hiroshima Industrial Promotion Organization performed a teardown analysis of the all-new Toyota Prius (launched in December 2015). The Prius has been reborn as a completely new car through significant changes such as the adoption of a newly-designed hybrid transaxle, and the use of the new TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform, all of which was done with the aim of achieving a JC08 mode fuel economy of 40.8km/liter (E grade) and improving the driving performance. (The analysis was performed on the A grade Prius, which has a fuel economy of 37.2km/liter.)
Part 1 of the teardown report will focus on the powertrain units and other technologies that contribute to increasing the fuel economy. Part 2 will look at the TNGA, and the technical innovations that changed the Prius from what was merely a fuel-efficient car, to a fuel-efficient and power-efficient car.
Previous teardown reports:
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