Suzuki plans to use Sanyo as its battery supplier for an upcoming plug-in hybrid version of the Suzuki Swift. 60 test units of the plug-in hybrid equipped with the Sanyo batteries will be deployed in Suzuki dealerships across Japan in the second half of 2010. Sanyo joins a group of battery supplies engaged to supply batteries for plug-in hybrids including Panasonic for an upcoming plug-in Prius and LG Chem for the Chevrolet Volt.
The Swift Hybrid plug-in car will be a series hybrid much like the Proton EMAS and the Chevrolet Volt. There is a 660cc combustion engine capable of 54 horsepower but its sole function is to run a generator that recharges the Sanyo batteries when needed when the batteries run out of wall socket charged juice. The batteries in turn power a 74 horsepower electric motor.
When the concept version of the car was first displayed at Tokyo 2009, Suzuki said the batteries in that car could go about 20km on full battery capacity before the 660cc engine has to kick in and burn petrol to provide more charge. The latest word from Suzuki has dropped this distance to about 15km.
Look after the jump for a small gallery of the Swift Plug-In Concept.
[zenphotopress number=99 album=535]
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
15km on battery only is not much. Maybe just enough to get to office in the morning. Going home, the engine need to kick in. Unless can plug in at office parking lot as well.
Looks like we need a few more years before the technology matures…
Suzuki’s engineers should come up with a new Hybrid car design rather than just converting from one of its current model.
yeah yeah everyone goes hybrid,
i just come back from proton show room,
a gen 2 cps m line, is on sale.
white with black roof and gun metal alloy rim, no leather of course.
we can get 128 bhp from both energy supplied…it is more hp than our proud 1.6 campro engine that can produce 125 bhp…it really good to have….have great power and have more clean combustion..can’t wait when they bring on to Malaysia…
bro..its only 70hp run the car…..other 54hp for generator (660cc combustion engine). read first la
My car also runs on Sanyo batteries.
It’s a replica Nissan GTR v-spec RC car and the 5000MAh Sanyo battery pack.
It uses 4 LR6 AA batteries? LOL…
The seat looks like an office chair
Unless you live 20 miles from your job, you do not need the big unused battery in the $40K GM Volt. Less expensive Plug-In hybrids with small batteries are the natural course in my opinion. Having said that, Plug-In hybrids will not clean up the air until we start to address the way we get our Electricity. Bill Clinton to his credit was changing the Coal plants to Natural Gas and the Air was getting Cleaner and Enron was leading the way. Obama and Swartzenegger have done nothing to clean up the air except give us new goals. Goals are fine, but I want results. I want less Coal, more Nuclear, More Solar, More Wind Turbines. I want less Corn Ethanol, more Advanced Ethanol from Sugarcane and Sugarbeets. Obama is still protecting Corn Ethanol with 50 Cents/Gal credit and a Tariff on Imported Sugarcane Ethanol. They both gets an F in the Environment in my opinion. I think funding for Cellulosic Ethanol should be cut in half and given to Research in getting Ethanol from Algae.