Before we brought our Plug-in Prius to the marketplace, we carried out a three-year research trial with 200 motorists in Europe, including 70 in Strasbourg, France.
We wanted to be sure our plug-in hybrid electric technology could deliver the kind of easy, efficient performance we required, so our development programme included a three-year pilot study in the French city of Strasbourg. Seventy cars were used by different project partners, each fitted with data-logging equipment so we could analyse the kind of journeys drivers made, how far they travelled and how often and where they recharged the battery.
The information we gathered after four million kilometres of driving helped us fine-tune the Prius Plug-in to make it as efficient and effective as possible, including adjusting its electric-powered range to be sure it could cover the great majority of typical urban journeys.