Toyota plans to put the iQ EV into production in 2012.
Slow to embrace battery-electric vehicles, Toyota is struggling to make up for lost time, and will introduce another electric car concept at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
The iQ EV prototype is a lithium-ion-powered version of the little iQ microcar – a conventionally-fueled version of which will soon makes its way to the States wearing a Scion badge. The four-seater is only slightly larger than the current Smart fortwo.
The battery concept will deliver about 65 miles per charge, according to Toyota, using a new flat battery pack that is distinctly different from the cylindrical, laptop computer-style lithium-ion batteries that will be used in the RAV4 EV. That battery-electric crossover, developed in cooperation with the Silicon Valley start-up, Tesla Motors, is due to market in 2012.
Expect 65 miles per charge.
The big push into lithium power is a decided turnaround for Toyota, which had long dismissed the technology as expensive and unreliable. Instead, it continued to emphasize conventional hybrids, like the Prius, which use less powerful nickel-metal hydride batteries.
But Toyota has found that its long-standing position as a leader in environmentally vehicles has come under assault by competitors like Nissan, which launched the world’s first mass market battery car, the Leaf, last December, and General Motors, with its Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid.
So, Toyota is rapidly expanding its electric vocabulary. Jim Lentz, the maker’s top American executive, insists the company won’t walk away from more traditional hybrids – in fact, it used the recent Detroit Auto Show to introduce an all-new brand-within-a-brand of Prius-badged hybrids. But while lithium batteries have been a problem “and remain so,” Lentz says Toyota believes enough progress is being made to move into more advanced propulsion platforms, such as the RAV4 EV and the iQ EV.
The former model will likely be sold in a variety of markets, including Japan, Europe and the U.S., but the urban commuter car may be limited to Europe, and possibly Japan, it appears, at least initially. It is expected to reach market about the same time as the battery-powered RAV4.
Significantly, Toyota appears to be going it alone, rather than relying on Tesla to help develop the iQ EV driveline. The maker has suggested it wants to explore a range of options that could make it easier to find a competitive electric vehicle solution.