Prius To Have Solar Panels

The Toyota, whose Prius is the most popular hybrid vehicle available today, plans to install solar panels to some of the upcoming new Prius vehicles. The company is said to be installing some solar panels in order to appease the growing demand for greener vehicles.

The solar panels will be used to power only part of the air conditioning in the vehicles and for ventilation. The solar panels will not be installed on all upcoming third-generation Prius vehicles however. The Prius models with solar panels are expected to be on the high-end of the cost of the vehicles, being seen as an addition to the regular model.

Car companies argue that solar panels on vehicles could do little more than power the AC units. Due to the high cost of silicon prices which comprise solar panels and difficulty storing energy, especially on a vehicle, solely solar powered vehicles are not likely to be on the horizon.

The Toyota Prius is not the first car model to have solar panels installed. Actually, in the early 1990s Mazda had two vehicles with solar panel options. The Eunos 800 and Sentia were offered with solar panels to keep vehicles ventilated on hot days. However, the two vehicles were discontinued after a brief run due to unpopularity.

The new models of the Prius are expected to be available for purchase in May this year, as a 2010 model. There will be the aforementioned optional solar panels for additional cost, however the cost has not been disclosed as of yet.