TOYOTA

Norway at war with Toyota's self-charging 

At a time when Toyota continued to bet heavily on hybrid vehicles, but some competitors were already coming up with hybrid plug-in proposals, rechargeable through a connection to the power grid, Toyota defined its hybrids as” self charging“. The Norwegians did not like the excess of creativity and banned advertising.
Not being a falsehood, to use the expression “self charging” when referring to a hybrid does not exactly deserve the premium for accuracy, especially because, ultimately, energy always depends on the gasoline consumed by the combustion engine. It is true that this technology recharges the small battery whenever it decelerates or locks, either in Toyota or in any other manufacturer, which also happens in vehicles equipped with mild hybrid and with plug-in hybrids. Even with 100% electric vehicles.
Toyota, which could already have started producing plug-in hybrids – technologically they are all similar, but with a larger battery (with 13 kWh instead of 1.3 kWh) and an internal charger – opted to continue investing in hybrids. And all this because not only did it guarantee the reduction of CO2 emissions (it is probably the only manufacturer that met the 95g/km limit that it has to reach during 2020), but it was able to offer more accessible vehicles, which is good for customers, and with higher profit margins, which is good for the company.
Lexus and Toyota announce their self-charging hybrids in 2018, a little everywhere, which has given rise to some complaints. The most violent came from Norway, where the local consumer protection agency not only banned the campaign, but also asked the manufacturer some questions. What motivated the Norwegians was " the idea advocated by the announcement that battery energy is free, which does not match reality, since despite deceleration and regenerative braking, gasoline is always needed”.

Autonews