What do you get when you combine the highly popular Toyota RAV4 crossover and a proven electric-vehicle powertrain developed by Tesla? Customers should start finding out in 2012, when an all-electric RAV4 is slated to debut in the U.S., combining the expertise of two of the industry’s most notable automotive innovators.
It’s part of a fast-moving partnership between the two automakers that got its start in May of this year. The original brief was for Toyota and Tesla to cooperate on the development of electric vehicles (EVs), parts, production systems and engineering support, with Toyota showing the way in terms of engineering, manufacturing and production expertise, and Tesla providing EV technology and a healthy dose of its daring spirit. But the two-way relationship is already paying off in real-world advances, with the first RAV4 EV prototype already built and undergoing testing. By the end of the year, a full test fleet of the vehicles will be on the road.
In addition to the electric RAV4, Toyota is making fuel-efficiency news with its revolutionary Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, also currently in testing and scheduled for a 2012 launch. The plug-in Prius will offer all of the fuel-sipping technology of the current model, then add in a high-output lithium-ion battery pack. That system will allow the Prius to be driven up to 13 miles, hitting speeds of more than 60 mph, on a single charge.
Unlike pure EVs, however, the plug-in Prius can rely on its standard hybrid powertrain for motivation when its batteries are low, and also recharge those batteries in a much quicker time frame: Just three hours using a standard 110-volt outlet or about 1.5 hours using a 220-volt charger.
Of course, considering Toyota’s dedication to improving fuel economy in the auto industry, the decision to launch two new electric-powered vehicles in the near future shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone—except the company’s rivals.
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