The interior temperature of an automobile can rise as high as 80°C when the vehicle is parked over an extended period of time under the intense summer sun. In order to counter this temperature increase, Toyota Motor Corporation installed a solar panel, jointly developed by Kyocera Corporation and Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., onto the moon roof of its Prius models. Subsequently, Kyocera, Asahi Glass and Aisin Seiki jointly improved the function and efficiency of the system, and launched, as a new product, a moon roof with a solar panel.

Power generated by solar panels mounted on the vehicle roof is used to operate air conditioner blower fans to take in air from the exterior and discharge hot air, thereby lowering the interior temperature. The system can reduce the temperature by approximately 10°C compared to conventional Prius models.

ADVICS provides a regenerative brake system for use in hybrid vehicles.

The system controls the balance between hydraulic braking and regenerative braking, ensuring adequate braking force and optimizing energy recovery, thereby contributing to improving fuel efficiency.

We developed Japan's first electric water pump for cooling the engine, which is used in the new Prius, as a product that realizes automobile heat management (heat usage optimization).

Water pumps circulate coolant water to cool the engine, but until now they have been driven by power diverted from the engine. By making the pump electrically operated, we reduced engine load, enabled optimal control of coolant water quantity and eliminated the friction loss inherent in belt-driven pumps. These results yielded an approximately 2% increase in fuel efficiency.