Test drive 20 years Toyota Prius: how it all happened
A series about a titanic path traveled by a Japanese brand and hybrids that have become reality
In February 2017, Toyota's combined hybrid model sales reached 10 million, with the last million being reached in just nine months. This is a story about true spirit, perseverance, pursuit of dreams and goals, hybrids and the potential that lies in this combination.
At the end of 1995, six months after responsible Toyota took the groundbreaking green light for the hybrid car project, and two years before its planned series production, the project workers were stumped. The prototype simply does not want to run, and the reality is very different from the simulation on a virtual computer, according to which the system must work smoothly.
Takeshi Uchiamada's team, having invested invaluable human, technological and financial resources into this undertaking, was forced to return to the starting point and reconsider their entire strategy. Engineers roll up their sleeves and take on round-the-clock calculations, design changes, recalibrations, writing new control software, and other thankless activities for an entire month. In the end, their efforts are rewarded, but the joy is short-lived - the car drives a few tens of meters, and then falls again.
At the time, Toyota had long been an automotive giant with a well-established image of a high-end car manufacturer, and the failure of such an ambitious new venture was an unthinkable scenario for the company. What's more, showcasing technological potential and financial strength is a key part of hybrid project design, and marketers cannot afford to step back from their own task.
In general, the idea of hybrid development is not typical of the spirit of Toyota, which at the time was known more for its conservatism than its commitment to innovation. The style of the company has been guided by a unique philosophy for decades, including the implementation of proven production and marketing models, their adaptation, development and improvement. The combination of these methods, combined with the traditional Japanese spirit, discipline and motivation, perfects the production methods of the island giant and makes it a benchmark of efficiency. However, in recent years, Toyota management has developed a new vision for the future in line with the new confidence of a global player aspiring to the top of the automotive industry, and the creation of a hybrid model should be the first big step in the ambitious construction task. avant-garde and more relaxed look. The desire for change forces the process, which, in turn, burdens the company's ability to develop to the limit. The first Prius was born in the throes of tantalum, and its design team faced unexpected obstacles, surprising challenges, and painful technological mysteries. The development and design stage is a costly experiment, accompanied by many wrong steps and insufficiently accurate engineering solutions, which led to a huge investment of time, effort and money.
In the end, the goal was achieved - the avant-garde Prius hybrid played the expected role of a marketing catapult that managed to turn Toyota into a technology pioneer and destroy the company's conservative image, creating an entirely new high-tech aura around it. The development of the first generation cost Toyota a whopping one billion dollars, incorporated enormous engineering potential and tested the perseverance, diligence, spirit and talent of all those directly or indirectly involved in the project.
Although it started out as a “shot in the dark,” the Prius is not just a technological revolution for Toyota. The process of its creation completely changes the entire management model of the company, the management of which has never made such risky decisions. Without the firm position of leaders like Hiroshi Okuda and Fujio Cho, the hybrid might not have become a popular Japanese giant. The ugly, suffering duck becomes the beginning of all beginnings, charts a possible path to the future of the car, and the second generation begins to bring direct financial dividends, falling on the fertile soil of high oil prices. Naturally, the next after the two mentioned, the steering company Katsuaki Watanabe skillfully used the foundations laid by his predecessors, putting hybrid technologies in a priority position for development in the coming years. The third Prius is now an integral part of Toyota's new philosophy, undoubtedly an important technology and market factor in the auto industry, and the fourth may afford to look odd because there are already enough alternatives, such as the more traditional Auris Hybrid. Currently, major investments are focused on building technologies and manufacturing methods to make the next generation of hybrids more affordable and efficient, with new battery technologies, modern control electronics and power supplies being the top priority in development activities. Here we will try to talk about the real heroism shown by the creators of this unique creation.
foreword
He drives off quietly and strange for a car. He glides through a haze of burned hydrocarbons and passes his brothers' humming engines with silent arrogance. Slight acceleration and silence are suddenly interrupted by the imperceptible but characteristic hum of the gasoline engine. As if demonstrating the dependence of humanity on fuel oil, the classic internal combustion engine modestly but unequivocally declares its presence in the modern hybrid system. The sound of a small, high-tech piston car is quite unobtrusive, but its very appearance shows that the award-winning hybrid pioneer Prius is still not an electric car and remains deeply attached to the gas tank ...
This decision is quite natural. In the coming decades, an electric vehicle may replace its combustion engine counterpart, but at this stage, hybrid technology is the best alternative to classic gasoline and diesel vehicles when it comes to low emissions. The alternative that does work is produced in large quantities and already has reasonable prices.
At the same time, the role of the gasoline engine in the Japanese model is significantly reduced, and the electrical system takes an active part in the drive, both directly and indirectly, helping to optimize engine performance. In recent years, Toyota and Lexus engineers have developed their original idea of combining the qualities of a parallel and series hybrid by adding some additional elements (including the latest generation of additional transmission) and improving the efficiency of electric motors, power electronics and batteries. However, they remained true to two technical principles - the use of a planetary mechanism to combine the power of two electric machines and an internal combustion engine and the electrical transformation of part of the energy of the internal combustion engine before it is sent to the wheels. To many, the hybrid idea of Japanese engineers still looks fantastic today, but its roots go back to the past. The real contribution of Toyota lies in the courage of the decision to create a hybrid car at a time when no one needs it, in the practical application of modern technologies that allow processes to be adequately controlled using intelligent algorithms and high-speed electronics. However, this simple formulation hides the enormous and selfless work of hundreds of highly qualified engineers and the expenditure of huge financial and technological resources. With a forward-thinking R&D base, creative interpretation of existing successful ideas, and already years of experience in the field of hybrid development, the Japanese giant continues to be the elder in this field, regardless of the ambitions of everyone else.
Today it is clear that the most important quality of the Prius is harmony.
between the constituent components of the power path, achieved in the pursuit of maximum efficiency. Individual units are connected in a conceptually unified synergy scheme, reflected in the name of the drive system - HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive). Already with the development of the Prius I, Toyota engineers were able to think big, pushing the boundaries of the combinations between internal combustion engines and electric motors realized so far and realizing the benefits of more flexible use of electricity in a fully integrated system. In this they are conceptually ahead of their peers, using parallel hybrid solutions with coaxially connected electric motor and gasoline engine. The Japanese have created a machine in which electricity does not go through the elementary path "battery - electric motor - transmission - wheels" and vice versa, but enters a complex cycle that includes internal combustion engines, the mechanical energy of which is used to generate drive current in real time. The Toyota scheme makes it possible to avoid the need for a classic gearbox, to select highly efficient modes of operation of the internal combustion engine due to its indirect connection to the drive wheels, as well as for the energy recovery mode when stopping and turning off the engine when stopped, as part of the general idea of maximum economy.
Following Toyota's success, many other companies have also moved towards hybrid models. However, it cannot be denied that almost all projects boil down to a parallel design solution that cannot provide efficiency, and therefore the meaning of Toyota's technological philosophy.
Even today, the company follows the basic architecture of the system originally designed, but for the sake of truth we must mention that making versions of the larger Lexus models requires development comparable to that of the first Prius. This is especially true for the latest version of the hybrid system with an additional four-speed transmission with planetary gears. The Prius itself has undergone significant changes in the second, third and fourth generations, including the addition of a plug-in version with lithium-ion batteries as another revolutionary step in the development of this technology. Meanwhile, the voltage in the system increased significantly, the electric motors increased the efficiency and reduced their volume, which made it possible to exclude some details in the design of the planetary gear drive and reduce the number of driven elements. Development also never stopped and new models become more efficient ...
Last but not least, the significant advantage of the Toyota model is not only in the technical aspect - the strength of the Prius lies in the message that its complex concept and design exudes. Hybrid car customers are looking for something completely new and are looking not only to save fuel and emissions, but to do it publicly as a manifestation of their environmental outlook. "The Prius has become synonymous with the hybrid, the unique essence of this technology," said the company's vice president. Honda John Mendel.
So far, there are no realistic prospects that anyone will challenge Toyota and Lexus' leadership positions in hybrid technology, despite growing competition. Much of the company's market success today is driven by the Prius—as Toyota USA president Jim Press once said, "A few years ago people bought a Prius because it was Toyota; today a lot of people buy Toyota because it makes a model like the Prius." This in itself is an outstanding breakthrough. When the first hybrids hit the market in 2000, most people simply looked at them with skeptical curiosity, but with rising fuel prices, Toyota's speed and solid lead quickly adapted to changing conditions.
However, when the creation of the Prius model begins, no one expects all this to happen - the initiators of the project and the engineers involved in the implementation have nothing but white sheets ...
The birth of philosophy
On September 28, 1998, at the Paris Motor Show, a group of Toyota executives led by Chairman Shoichiro Toyoda was to unveil the Yaris, the company's new small model. Its appearance on the market of the Old Continent is planned for 1999, and in 2001 its production should start at a new plant in the south of France.
After the presentation is over, when the bosses are getting ready to answer questions, something strange happens. In principle, attention should be focused on the Yaris, but journalists, asking their questions, quickly turn their attention to Toyota's new hybrid model called the Prius. Everyone is interested in its presentation in Europe, which should take place in 2000. The model was first shown in 1997 in Japan and, thanks to its incredible technology and low fuel consumption, quickly attracted the attention of car manufacturers and journalists around the world. In July 1998, then-CEO Hiroshi Okuda announced that in 2000 Toyota would start exporting about 20 vehicles to North America and Europe. From that moment on, thanks to the Prius, the words Toyota and hybrid are now pronounced as synonyms, although at that time no one knew what they were talking about. Few people know that the company managed not only to design this technological masterpiece, but also - due to the lack of a technical base and the development potential of suppliers - to design and manufacture many unique systems and elements. On a few pages, it is difficult to fully recreate the true heroism shown by the responsible people and designers of Toyota, who managed to turn an idea into a model suitable for mass production.
Project G21
By 1990, communism was crumbling and the economies of the industrial democracies were flourishing. It was then that the chairman of the board of directors of Toyota, Aggi Toyoda, provoked heated discussions in the company. "Should we continue to make cars the way we do now?" Will we survive in the XNUMX century if our development continues along the same tracks?
At the time, the goal of manufacturers was to make cars bigger and more luxurious, and Toyota didn't stand out in the same way. However, Toyoda, the man who, along with his colleague Soichiro Honda, was a leading figure in Japan's post-war automobile industry, is worried. “Then it just became our focus. One day things will change, and if we do not direct our development activities in a new way, we will suffer the consequences of this in the coming years.” At a time when the priority is short-term prospects for more powerful and luxurious models, this sounds like heresy. However, Toyoda continued to preach his philosophy until the executive vice president in charge of design and development of new models, Yoshiro Kimbara, accepted the idea. In September 1993, he created the G21, a design committee to study the vision and philosophy of the 1993 century car. Here's another interesting fact: in 3, the Clinton administration in the United States launched an initiative aimed at developing a car that consumes an average of 100 liters of fuel per XNUMX km. Despite the ambitious name of the New Generation Car Partnership (PNGV), which includes American automakers, the result of several years of work of engineers was the coffers of an American lightweight billionaire and a total of three hybrid prototypes. Toyota and Honda are excluded from this initiative, but this further encourages them to create their own technologies to significantly reduce fuel consumption ...
(to follow)
Text: Georgy Kolev
