Patent drawings reveal Toyota’s next concept?
Feb 8, 2010 Object
Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Sedan, Hatchback, Lexus, Toyota, Electric
It would seem that Toyota has an interesting and hitherto unknown concept vehicle up its sleeves, judging by a European patent that L’Automobile in France was somehow able to dig up. Despite our best efforts, we weren’t able to locate the actual patent filing ourselves, so you’ll have to head on back after clicking here to see the rest of the associated images.
So, what do you think? Judging by the absolutely minuscule engine compartment and Toyota’s well-earned position at the top of the hybrid vehicle food chain, it would be a reasonable assumption to conclude that this is some kind of new hybrid vehicle concept. It does seem to share some design cues with the 2007 1/X concept, though it could also be an all-electric, fuel cell or conventional design.
L’Automobile seems to think that this vehicle may wear a Lexus badge and could possibly debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, but we can’t say for certain. In any case, it’s an intriguing design that shows what styling direction the Japanese giant may take with future people movers.
[Source: L'Automobile (translated)]
Patent drawings reveal Toyota’s next concept? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: drawings-reveal, entry, france, geneva-motor, hatchbacks, toyota patents, toyotaconcept, toyotaconceptcar, toyotahybridpatents
REPORT: 76% of "electric propulsion vehicle" patent applications come from Japan
Toyota is the undisputed world leader in hybrid vehicle sales, so it’s no surprise the company dominates the charts when it comes to patents for “electric propulsion vehicles.” A recent study conducted by the Japan Patent Office on global trends in the EV industry found that 76 percent of the 16,670 patents filed for electric propulsion vehicles (here defined as pure electric vehicles, hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, yet excluding railroad vehicles) came from Japanese companies.
As you can see in the tables above (unedited version here), Toyota has filed dramatically more patent applications than anyone else. What’s surprising is this this list only takes into account patent applications filed from 2001 to 2006, which is after the Prius debuted. Many more applications were filed in this time frame than in 1995-2000, and the numbers are still climbing.
[Source: Tech-On]
REPORT: 76% of “electric propulsion vehicle” patent applications come from Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: account-patent, charts, control-systems, electricvehiclepatents, hybridpatents, kia borrego fuel cell, patentapplication, toyota motor corp, toyota patents, toyotapatents
