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ELECTRIFICATION

Electrify This: Toyota Opens Vehicle Patents to Advance Global Electrification

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Electric vehicles may very well be the future, but the transition to them is a long process. Manufacturers must invest tens of billions of dollars to research, develop, and execute these models — a cost that can be prohibitive, if not downright impossible to meet for some companies.

This week, the Toyota Motor Corporation announced it would help its competitors enter the market, by granting royalty-free licenses on more than 24,000 patents it holds on electrification-related technologies. These include pending patents.

Also, the automaker said it will help its competitors by developing and selling electrified vehicles when they use the company’s components, including, motors, batteries, computers, control units, and related technologies in their own vehicles. In other words, a future hybrid model from Chrysler might feature Toyota technologies.

Toyota hybrid technology
Toyota’s hybrid technologies include motors, computers, batteries and scores of related components.

Global Electrification Leadership

Why would Toyota do this? Goodwill is an important reason as the company acknowledges that the worldwide effort to reduce vehicle emissions is a daunting task.

Furthermore, the move once again highlights Toyota’s leadership in all things electric — this Japanese automaker has produced the global-leading Toyota Prius hybrid since the 1990s and has the largest hybrid fleet in the world. Moreover, Toyota has long been involved in full electrification, most recently with its hydrogen fuel cell Toyota Mirai. Clearly, this automaker has the experience that no other manufacturer can claim.

“Based on the high volume of inquiries we receive about our vehicle electrification systems from companies that recognize a need to popularize hybrid and other electrified vehicle technologies, we believe that now is the time for cooperation,” said Shigeki Terashi, Member of the Board and Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation. “If the number of electrified vehicles accelerates significantly in the next 10 years, they will become standard, and we hope to play a role in supporting that process.”

Royalty-Free Patents

Toyota’s royalty-free patents are especially useful for hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV). Nearly 24,000 patents were awarded to Toyota over the past 20 years.

The automaker has granted access to these patents immediately and will keep its offer open through 2030. By then, the global automotive fleet may look far different than it is today. At least in the new vehicles offered as well as the used car fleet.

For manufacturers desiring Toyota’s assistance with developing electrified vehicles, Toyota’s fee-based technical support will cover specific areas. These include overviews of vehicle electrification systems, control guides, and tuning guides. According to Toyota, that kind of assistance will help its competitors optimize performance, maximize fuel efficiency and output, while achieving acceptable levels of quietness in their function.

Toyota, Lexus Hybrid Models

As for Toyota’s internal plans for electrification, we’ll see more of the same as its hybrid models continue to improve in efficiency and performance. Indeed, the latest generation of hybrid models are more efficient and powerful than before and include the Toyota Prius Prime, Toyota Avalon Hybrid, and the first-ever Toyota Corolla Hybrid.

The automaker’s Lexus luxury brand is also well represented by such models as the Lexus NX 300h utility vehicles and the Lexus ES Hybrid sedan. In the U.S., Toyota easily outsells its competitors in all things hybrid.

See Also — Lexus: 1 Million Hybrid Vehicles Later

Photo copyright Toyota Motor Corporation.

Vehicle Electrification and Volvo Cars

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It is almost hard to imagine manufacturers pursuing an electric vehicle strategy with the world awash in oil. Fuel prices hovering around two dollars per gallon has consumers thinking about and buying the largest vehicles their budgets can handle, effectively setting back years of growth and investment in vehicle electrification.

But car manufacturers don’t simply look at the here and now. Automakers look at markets 10 to 20 years out, even further, anticipating what global conditions will affect manufacturing, while managing consumer expectations.

Few experts, including Volvo Cars, think that the current reduction in fuel prices will last. And even if they manage to stay below historically high numbers, government policies the world over are requiring fleets to reduce emissions and to improve fuel economy.

Vehicle Electrification Strategy

Plug-in Hybrid - 2016 Volvo XC90 T8
Plug-in Hybrid – 2016 Volvo XC90 T8.
Volvo Car is a premium car manufacturer, a Swedish company with Chinese owners. Previously owned by the Ford Motor Company, Volvo is using its new relationship with Zheijiang Geely Motors to overhaul its product line. New models are in place, others are on the way, and still others are in the planning stages. The company’s latest strategy, announced in October 2015, has it building a new range of electrified smaller cars as well as plans to release its first fully electric car by 2019.

Once Volvo’s electric cars are introduced, the company expects that 1 in 10 of its new vehicles will be some sort of electrified model (i.e., plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or pure electric (BEV) models). That strategy is for its medium term outlook; the company hasn’t clarified when that might happen.

The Volvo strategy will be a multi-prong effort, beginning with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants of its larger cars: the 90 series and the 60 series. Both models are based on the company’s scalable product architecture and that means they’ll share a common platform, components, and technologies.

Twin Engine Models

We’re already seeing the first fruits of Volvo’s initiative demonstrated in the XC90 SUV. A T8 Twin Engine All-Wheel Drive PHEV model rolled out first, followed by hybrid versions of its S90 sedan and other models. In the case of the 7-seater XC90, Volvo has combined gasoline engine and electric motor technologies to produce an EV that makes 400 horsepower and goes from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 5.9 seconds. It does this with a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine, all-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission.

Up next is a new line of 40 series cars, among the smallest vehicles Volvo builds. Like the scalable product architecture, the 40 series will be based on a newly created compact modular architecture platform.

Both platforms were designed from the start to handle electrification. Thus, with two all-new platforms in the mix, Volvo has an edge over even much larger manufacturers to bring PHEV and BEV models to the market.

“We have learned a lot about how people use cars with electrification thanks to our current product offer,” said Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President for Research and Development. “Our research has shown that people are driving our Twin Engine cars in electric mode around 50 per cent of the time, meaning our plug-­in hybrids already offer a real alternative to conventional powertrain systems.”

Automotive Safety Meets Electrification Technology

Volvo Cars, long a pioneer in car safety best practices is no novice to vehicle electrification, claiming nearly 40 years of experience in the field. Unlike other manufacturers that jumped in when technology was weak and prices were high, Volvo has chosen to wait until more favorable market conditions emerge. Those conditions are here now and the automaker is intent on doing its part to make vehicle electrification a sensible choice across multiple product lines.

See Also — Two More Years of Strong Auto Sales?

Photo copyright the Volvo Car Group.