AD MAGAZINE 342

34 March 2018 | AutoData TECHNOLOGY » ETHANOL + ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON THE WAY OF BSB Toyota is another automaker of Japa- nese origin with important projects in the area of ethanol. In Brazil it is going on a fast rythm to a innovative solution, that of the flex hybrid vehicle, that is, accepting ethanol or its mixture with gasoline in any proportion as a liquid fuel, which drives the engine to the explosion which in turn feeds the electricmotor batteries. The tests are taking place in a Prius imported from Japan. In the next few years the automaker will launch in Brazil the new generation of Corolla, based on the same platform of the current Prius, the TNGA, Toyota New Global Architecture - which could even- tually facilitate things for local production also the model with this new hybrid tech- nology flex. As part of the development of a Toyota flex hybrid, the next step will be the São Paulo-Brasília trip on board the prototype - about 1 thousand kilometers separate the two cities. According to Ricardo Bastos, director of public and governmental relations at Toyota, “new environmentally responsi- ble technologies, such as the flex hybrid system, will enable Brazil to move forward in a new phase of technological improve- ment of thewhole chain. And theywill also increase their competitiveness for the de- velopment of new sustainable solutions. “ There is no stipulated date - or even certainty - for a possible arrival of the Toyota hybrid flex to the market, but the odds seem pretty strong for the short or medium term. Unica, the Sugar Cane Industry Union, “The hybrid needs some adaptations to become flex, but it’s not a NASA project” Alfred Szwarc, Única’s consultant Disclousure/Itaipu binacional