World debut of Toyota RAV4 EV Concept at 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show

Toyota has chosen the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show to unveil an all-electric SUV concept vehicle.  The car has an electric powertrain developed by Tesla under a Toyota RAV4 compact SUV body.

A total of 35 vehicles will be built for a demonstration and evaluation programme during 2011, with the introduction of a final production model in the US in 2012.

The target will be a range of 100 miles ‘in actual road driving patterns, in a wide range of climates and conditions’. This is a breath of fresh air in the world of electric vehicle ranges. Too often ‘a 100 mile range’ actually means driving on a flat road in the most economical way possible with no ancillary equipment in use and in a warm climate.

Emulating Tesla

Toyota wanted to emulate Tesla’s streamlined, quick-action approach. Led by Toyota’s engineering and manufacturing technical centre in Michigan, the team adopted a ‘fast and flexible’ development style and a new decision and approval process. Tesla was responsible for building and supplying the battery, as well as other related parts, while Toyota was responsible for development and manufacturing, and the seamless integration of the powertrain.

A large part of the team’s focus was on driveability. The end goal is a vehicle with driveability characteristics as close to the conventional RAV4 as possible.  For example, the demonstration vehicle weighs approximately 100kg more than the current RAV4 V6 (US model) yet it will accelerate from zero to sixty nearly as quickly. Not only were suspension and steering modified significantly, major components needed to be relocated to better balance the increased mass of the battery pack.

The RAV4 EV features exterior styling changes including a new front bumper, grille, fog lamps and head lamps.

So far so good, but many decisions are still to be taken: product, specification, battery size, assembly location, launch timing and price for starters.

And the vehicle is still something of an enigma – a theme explored further in the Ian Seear column.