Toyota Prius PHEV Reaches Ontario

The push to increase testing of the Prius model's plug-in hybrid version continues, with Japanese manufacturer Toyota announcing the delivery of the first such vehicle to Ontario, Canada, to be used and tested by the Province of Ontario Ministry of Energy and Transportation, Ontario Power Generation, the City of Toronto and the AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence.

The single PHEV will be moved around from one group to another. The car will be fitted by Toyota with all the required telematics equipment to allow the manufacturer to record and process the data resulting from the test.

“Toyota Canada is pleased to deliver the first Prius PHV to our partners in Ontario, a province that has shown great leadership in planning for a more sustainable transportation future," said Yoichi Tomihara, President of Toyota Canada.

The Prius PHEV sets itself apart from its regular hybrid peer by its ability to charge the batteries through a domestic outlet.

The Japanese manufacturer plans to roll out at least 100 units of this version of the Prius in the following years for testing purposes. Although initially it said it had no plans to mass produce the vehicle shown for the first time at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year, this version of the Prius is now expected to hit the market in 2015.

"The McGuinty government is pleased to be a partner in this pilot project, which will help provide us with data needed to build province-wide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles - a core element of our Smart Grid vision," added Brad Duguid, the Province of Ontario minister of Energy.