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Comment by rrmm | Hacker News Reader

Aqua is the nameplate in Japan. Prius-C elsewhere. New battery technology apparently for NiMH and a higher electric-only mode speed (before the ICE kicks in).

Toyota seems to prefer the NiMH batteries as they've got a long history with them and a mature (and highly regarded) system. I think it might also avoid patents and other entanglements with Li-ion.

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It's true that Toyota does employ NiMH batterys often, but they still offer models with Li-ion (Prius Prime, FWD Prius). The NiMH batteries tend to be found in the cheaper models (Prius C/Aqua) or those intended for colder climates (Prius AWD).

Interesting news is that some Japanese article said that only most cheap grade uses Li-ion battery meanwhile other grades use this nickel battery. I wonder is it because really superior than Li-ion or just because it's expensive initially.

Edit: This article said that the new nickel is 1000Wh/L meanwhile Li-ion on cheaper model is 740Wh/L. It seems that now nickel overcomes Li-ion for Wh per volume. (other Li-ions also seems to <= 800Wh/L)

https://car.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1338990.html

https://www.eenewspower.com/news/nanograf-hits-800whl-milest...

NiMH batteries are also offered in higher-end models like RAV4 AWDi, etc. Purchasing RAV4 in EU one doesn't even know at the time of purchase what battery type will arrive with the car, what I find kinda strange.

Both types of batteries have pros and cons - this YT channel of a Toyota mechanic provides pretty clear explanation of the differences https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS3Lg3qJcnc

> I wonder is it because really superior than Li-ion or just because it's expensive initially.

Pretty much one, and only remarkable trait is that they work well at < 0C°

Don't know the chemistry used by Toyota, but NiMH is less likely to feature Cobalt than a LiIon cell. If so, it's a benefit.

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