THE silent invasion of electric cars has slipped into top gear with the introduction by Toyota of a plug-in version of the third-generation Prius hybrid.
The significance of this car is that it can be used either as an electric vehicle or a petrol electric hybrid, cancelling out the limited range penalties of electric-only vehicles. But the big news is that on electric power only, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV) offers greater range, significantly reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
This is the first use of a lithium-ion battery on a Toyota vehicle, a battery which can be charged from external sources or by the car's hybrid drive.
For the time being 600 cars will be introduced in Japan, the United States, and Europe over the first half of 2010 and 20 will come to the UK.
The Prius PHVs which emit only 59g/km of CO2 will be leased to government ministries, local government, electric power companies, universities and research agencies, for use in a demonstration programme aimed at collecting real-world driving data and spurring the development of battery-charging infrastructure.
It may be collecting data at the moment, but be assured the PHV is the way ahead and is poised to slash carbon emissions and fuel bills. Toyota aims to begin sales in the tens of thousands of units to the general public in two years.
I have expressed doubts in the past over purely electric vehicles because their range is constrained by the technology available. But the PHV looks like it has bridged the gap to provide practical cheap motoring until the impossible happens and we can drive a high performance purely electric car with a 300 mile plus range.