Why you can’t order a Toyota Prius with a roof-mounted solar panel

By Ronan Glon Updated June 17, 2016

Toyota Prius Prime

In Japan, the plug-in hybrid version of the new Toyota Prius will be available with a large solar panel built into the roof when it goes on sale in the fall. Buyers in Europe will also be able to order the panel, but don’t look for it on the list of options if you live in the United States.

That’s because the solar panel is installed on reinforced glass sheeting that shatters in the event of a rollover. That’s acceptable in Europe and in Japan, but the setup doesn’t comply with safety regulations in the U.S. Toyota still hasn’t found a way around the issue.

Where there’s a will, however, there should be a way, and the Japanese firm is committed to offering its greenest model with a built-in solar panel in the not-too-distant future.

Toyota Prius plug-in solar panel

“We would like to introduce this, at least in the lifetime of the current model. It should be possible to do a lot of charging this way in places like California or Arizona,” said Koji Toyoshima, the chief engineer of the Prius and the Prius plug-in hybrid, in a recent interview with Automotive News.

The solar panel stretches nearly the entire length of the roof. When the Prius is parked, the electricity generated by the panel is sent directly to the battery pack. When it’s running, the electricity is used to power accessories such as the A/C, the lights, and the power windows. Toyota promises that adding a solar panel to the Prius makes it about 10-percent more efficient, though more specific figures haven’t been announced yet.

Read more: How this man got a new Tundra for free from Toyota

Toyota engineers are busily developing a way to offer the solar panel on our shores. We don’t know when it will arrive yet, but it’s safe to assume that it will be available as an extra-cost option.

Topics

Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

Computing

This SSD is one of the fastest we’ve seen, but you probably can’t use it

Two PCIe 5.0 SSDs from Adata.

Significantly faster SSDs will become available in 2022 thanks to the impending arrival of the PCIe 5.0 standard, and with CES around the corner, one company has teased its first PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSDs.

Adata, a Taiwanese memory and storage manufacturer, confirmed its presence for CES 2022, an upcoming technology conference where companies showcase their latest products. Adata in particular will unveil product lines ranging from DDR5 memory to gaming peripherals.

Mobile

The Huawei P50 Pocket is the Galaxy Z Flip 3 rival you can’t buy

Huawei’s smartphone business may be in tatters, but the company still launches new phones periodically. Nearly a year after the Huawei Mate X2 arrived, the company is readying the launch of another foldable smartphone called the Huawei P50 Pocket.

Huawei’s official Weibo account recently posted an invite for the launch of the P50 Pocket. This device -- as evident from the name -- appears to be a part of Huawei's P50 series lineup, which has diverged from Huawei's original Mate series foldable phones. The accompanying text says that the new device is the company’s Winter Flagship and that it will be unveiled on December 23. The post also includes a teaser image that highlights a vertical folding design -- similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Moto Razr. The image also hints at two possible color options: White and gold.

Mobile

Google launches a Pixel 6 Material You fashion collection you can’t actually wear

Pixel 6 rear cameras.

This year’s Pixel 6 series almost feels like a breath of fresh air with its brand new Android 12 Material You design. The decade-old mobile operating system now has a much-needed visual overhaul that allows a ton of individuality, customization, and character unlike any version before. To complement the same theme, Google has launched the Google Pixel 6: Material You Collection available to anyone in the U.K. for free starting November 23.

Before you get too excited, let's clarify. Google is not giving you free clothes. The Material You Collection is a 12-piece unisex set of limited-edition digital fashion apparel that will allow Pixel 6 users to "express their individuality better." To put it simply, it is a visual representation of physical clothes. Meaning that, yes, you can't actually wear any of these. Think of it as concept art or costume design rather than a product. Strange, but that's how marketing works, we suppose.