Toyota says new developments can make Prius batteries even more efficient

Although Toyota took a decade longer than its rival due to cost, size, and safety concerns, lithium-ion batteries have recently come under attack for being unstable and lighting on fire (particularly when used with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 phones). Toyota claimed that it preferred Ni-Mh batteries because they were safer, even though they were increasingly less efficient given new designs in automotive technology.

Now Toyota says that its Prius Prime, an impending plug-in electric version of its gasoline hybrid of the same name, will use lithium-ion batteries with enough juice to push the car to 37.3 mph when fully charged before the gasoline engine takes effect. It will be listed as having an electric mode range of 25 miles in the United States due to the different ways the country measures those figures.