Toyota RAV4e electric vehicle, San Francisco, March 2010
Enlarge PhotoBack in the pre-Internet dominated world of journalism, news stories were passed down from tip-offs, official press releases and the wires service. But in the twenty-first century, things are done a little differently. And occasionally, we see something pass by on Twitter that makes us perk up and take note.
Toyota has just announced on its twitter stream that the 'Toyesla' RAV4 EV, the Toyota/Tesla lovechild of the reborn Toyota RAV4 EV will be debuted at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, this November. The tweet, posted from @toyota read:
"Toyota and Tesla will debut the RAV4-EV at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show in November. ^AT"
The specifications are still a closely guarded secret, although we know that Tesla have already delivered a fully working RAV4 EV to Toyota for testing. The collaboration which was announced earlier this year, will result in Toyota badged RAV4s being sold with a Tesla-designed electric drive system.
Our John Volecker was lucky enough to drive one of the original RAV4 EVs in California earlier this year, after being invited to spend some time in a much-loved example of Toyota’s famous electric crossover vehicle.
Now ten years old, some of the original vehicles are still being used as daily drivers, offering their owners zero-emissions, highway capable driving with a range of around 100 miles per charge. Many 1997-2003 RAV4s now have odometer readings above 100,000 miles without significatn battery pack issues or degredation.
With Toyota’s ability to mass produce vehicles and Tesla’s engineering excellence in battery pack design, this strange love-child will be a must-drive car and will put Toyota firmly in the middle of the race to become the number one EV producer.
Source: All Cars Electric
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment