Toyota to Sell Electric RAV4 With Tesla Motor for $49,800
May 8 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest maker of hybrid autos, said its electric RAV4 sport-utility vehicle with batteries and motor from Tesla Motors Inc. will cost more than twice as much as the gasoline version.
Toyota will sell the RAV4 EV for $49,800 this year in California, and plans to deliver 2,600 units over the next three years, the company said yesterday at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles. The base price of a 2012 RAV4 with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine is $22,650 on Toyota's website.
"We think the 2,600 unit figure is reasonable for this product. We want to set a precedent to see how the market develops," Bob Carter, Toyota's group vice president of U.S. sales, said in an interview. "This is going to be the market's only electric SUV."
Toyota, which bought a $50 million stake in Palo Alto, California-based Tesla in 2010, is under pressure to sell the most rechargeable vehicles in California to meet state pollution rules. Along with the electric RAV4, Toyota has already begun selling a plug-in version of its Prius hybrid and also plans to deliver battery-powered iQ minicars to fleet customers.
From this year through 2014, Toyota, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC have to deliver about 60,000 plug-in hybrid and all- electric cars combined to meet California's zero-emission vehicle mandate. Toyota must deliver the most rechargeable vehicles because it has the largest market share in the state.
Recharging Time
The company, based in Toyota City, Japan, said the RAV4 EV travels 100 miles (161 kilometers) per charge, and needs six hours to fully recharge at a 240-volt outlet. Toyota will warranty the lithium-ion battery pack supplied by Tesla for eight years or 100,000 miles.
The base price of the vehicle, which will vie with Nissan's Leaf and Ford's electric Focus, doesn't include a $7,500 federal tax credit and $2,500 California rebate, said Jana Hartline, a Toyota spokeswoman.
Both Carter and J.B. Straubel, Tesla's chief technology officer, declined to elaborate on the cost of the battery, motor and other parts for the electric RAV4. The model will be built at Toyota's Woodstock, Ontario, plant, with Tesla components made in California.
Toyota's U.S. sales unit is in Torrance, California. The company's American depositary receipts rose 0.1 percent to $78.69 at the close in New York. Tesla gained 2 percent to $32.47.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at jbutters@bloomberg.net
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