Toyota to Electrify All Its Vehicles by 2025, Introduce 10 EVs by Early 2020s

GM has said it will have 20 EVs by 2023, others are also making big claims, and now formerly reluctant Toyota says it will be in the thick of it too.

Yesterday from Japan, Toyota announced its future plans for the all-electric market. The company will accelerate its development of battery-electric vehicles, culminating with “more than 10” BEV models being available worldwide by the early 2020s. The wave will start in China before expanding to other markets with a gradual introduction in Japan, India, the United States, and Europe.

Remarkably, for all its work and success in the hybrid and plug-in hybrid segments, the company currently does not offer a single EV here in America. The short-lived RAV4 EV came and went like a summer’s breeze, the second generation of which was developed in conjunction with Tesla.

The relationship between Toyota and Tesla officially ended in August 2014 with Tesla’s fulfilment of the battery supply agreement. Based on this cooperation, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Japanese manufacturer work with an experienced EV company again to help acheive their new goals.

Toyota’s electrified vehicle strategy centers on a significant acceleration in the development and launch plans of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), batteryelectric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

Also of note, the company stated that every model in the Toyota and Lexus line-up around the world will be available either as a dedicated electrified model or have an electrified option by 2025. This is huge news, given the depth and breadth of Toyota’s passenger car and light-truck offerings around the globe.

Toyota has long advocated that all-electric cars would remain on the fringe due to their relatively low range. This announcement changes that tune and signals a shift in the thinking of management. To help solve the puzzle of EV range, Toyota and Panasonic will start a feasibility study on a joint automotive prismatic battery business.

Their shared goal is to achieve the best automotive prismatic battery in the industry, ultimately contributing to the popularization of electrified vehicles … and no doubt justifying the expense of developing these machines.

The announcement went on to say that by the year 2030, Toyota aims to have sales of more than 5.5 million electrified vehicles, including more than 1 million zero-emission vehicles.

Extensive experience in battery and electric motor development – through hybrids, natch – will give the company a head start on this project. Currently, Toyota is careful to slip the word electric into everything in its Prius line, from the compact Prius c billed as a hybrid-electric to the PriusPrime as a plug-in hybrid electric. The startling Mirai is hyped as a fuel-cell electric vehicle.

Thanks to these machines, and their forebears, Toyota sales of electrified vehicles have reached more than 11 million units worldwide to date.

2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Car – Yet another Hybrid from Toyota

Toyota is going to add yet another hybrid car in its lineup that has already full with lots of them. After Camry, Avalon, Highlander, Prius c, Prius, Prius v, Prius Plug-in the auto maker is going to add launch 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid which is going to be unveiled at 2015 New York Auto Show. If you are not satisfied with the numerous selections of hybrid cars from this Japanese carmaker then you could wait a bit and you could buy Rav4.

Bigger Highlander hybrid was launched in 2006 but electrified version of RAV4 was missed till date but no more. Further details about the car would come to light after its debut at New York Auto Show next week. It is very likely that powertrain would be borrowed from Lexus NX. NX hybrid carries CVT automatic transmission with 4-cylinder 2.5ltr engine. The engine teams up with 2 electric motors and a hydride battery (nickel-metal).

The power output of the car is 194hp for both front and all wheel drive. The all wheel drive is going to have an extra electric motor that is going to drive its rear wheels.

It is more likely that the hybrid system for this car would not be as efficient as Prius so a careful handling of the car might be required to save fuel while driving. RAV4 Hybrid does not has real threat from competitions but would have to face stiff competition from small crossovers which are fuel efficient and buyers might not be very interested to pay extra for just riding some extra miles.

RAV4 was redesigned in 2012 so it would be interesting to see if any external changes happen for the hybrid version. Toyota is going to launch hybrid version for all its cars one by one.

The hybrid cars are great for the environment and Toyota is doing a great job in bringing harmony between machine and nature. But with the advancement of technology for electric cars, only time will tell if these hybrid cars would be hot in future.

Time Has Run Out For The Toyota RAV4 EV

Three years ago, Tesla Motors and Toyota struck a deal to produce 2,600 battery-powered RAV4 EVs. The last of those electric crossovers has arrived in California to fulfill the deal, reports InsideEVs and with Toyota committing to its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, there are no plans to replace the RAV4 EV anytime soon.

That means that this could be your last chance to get a fresh and new Toyota RAV4 EV, possibly forever. Though not without their problems, the 103-mile rated driving range per charge and $50,000 MSRP (thoughincentives made it much cheaper) make it more versatile and affordable than many other EVs. As InsideEVs reports though, 2,130 of the 2,600 have already been sold or leased, and a few of the remaining models may already be earmarked by Toyota for other purposes. That leaves as little as 300 RAV4 EVs left to be had.

Will Toyota pull a GM move and crush the leased models it gets back? Perhaps, though unlike GM, Toyota did sell a few RAV4 EVs, though it does nothing to support buyers who live outside of California, the only place you could actually buy the electric crossover. Toyota and Tesla’s differing cultures also clashed over development of the RAV4 EV, which some speculate led to the split.

It’s a double shame because there doesn’t seem to be any cars on the horizon that will replace it. The Tesla Model X is an order of magnitude more expensive with an estimated starting price well into the $70,000 range, and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV still relies on a gas engine for longer distances. Other than that though? Automakers have put almost no effort into the two segments (electric and crossovers) that are among the fastest growing in both the US and Europe.

The RAV4 EV had the potential to be so much more than Toyota let it be, and I think that’s the biggest shame of all.

The post Time Has Run Out For The Toyota RAV4 EV appeared first on Gas 2.

Safety Exemption Sought For U.S. Sales Of The Toyota FCV

There is little doubt that the United States has some of the most onerous automotive safety regulations in the world, and sometimes that makes selling a new kind of car technology difficult. Toyota is asking for a special exemption for its FCV hydrogen fuel cell car that has to do with the separation of high-voltage components and the safety of first responders.

Bloomberg reports that the rule, FMVSS No. 305, requires automakers to isolate high-voltage components in the event of an accident in order to prevent first responders from being electrocuted. Unfortunately for Toyota, such a mechanism would render the FCV inoperable, even after a minor fender bender.

The Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S, and other electric vehicles all integrate such a system, but Toyota is petitioning the NHTSA for a special exemption from this rule. Instead, Toyota says it will wrap high-voltage wires in extra insulation and protect the hydrogen fuel stack, electric motor, and battery with metal barriers.

With Toyota limiting sales to just 2,500 units a year at first, it’s likely the NHTSA will grant Toyota its exemption for the first couple of years while engineers figure out a better solution for the $69,000 FCV. I have to say though, for all of Toyota’s bluster on the greatness of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the fact that they’re seeking safety exemptions isn’t exactly encouraging. The hydrogen fuel tanks may be bulletproof, but is extra insulation and metal barriers going to prevent an inexperienced first responder from getting shocked or even killed?

Toyota seems to think so, though ultimately the answer lies with the NHTSA, and while it seems unlikely, what will Toyota do if its exemption is denied? Without the RAV4 EV and Tesla to fall back on, Toyota has put all its eggs in a basket called the FCV..

Source: Toyota