Toyota Confirms 2012 RAV4 EV Will Be Offered to the General Public

TORRANCE, California — Toyota says it will be the only manufacturer to bring two battery-electric vehicles to the market next year — the RAV4 EV and the Scion iQ EV. While the 2012 RAV4 EV will be available for sale to the general public, the iQ EV will be sold only to fleet and car sharing programs, the automaker said.

In a statement released Tuesday, Toyota said, "We anticipate robust public interest in the RAV4 EV."

The RAV4 EV was publicly unveiled late last year at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Electric sports-car maker Tesla Motors, which also has development deals with Daimler and Panasonic, will provide the battery and other powertrain components for the RAV4 EV.

Toyota said the 2012 RAV4 EV will have a range of about 100 miles.

The original RAV4 EV was discontinued in 2003 after lackluster sales in the U.S. That vehicle was powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and had a range of 80-110 miles. Toyota said from model years 1998-2003, only 1,484 RAV4 EVs were sold or leased in the U.S. It notes that 746 of them are still on the road.

Inside Line says: Depending on how it's priced against the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi i, the battery-powered iQ could be the real sleeper for Toyota. Hopefully, Aston Martin won't ask for one.