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Tesla says Toyota RAV4 EV production will end in 2014

In a regulatory filing Tesla said that it expected its agreement to supply Toyota with electric drivetrains for its RAV4 EV will end this year.


The RAV4 EV is based on the previous generation Toyota RAV4 and was designed, in part, to help the company meet that state's zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) mandate. It has only ever been available in California.

In place of the regular petrol and diesel motors, the RAV4 EV is propelled by a Tesla designed and supplied drivetrain consisting of a 115kW/370Nm electric motor, single speed transmission and a 41.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack. With the batteries weighing 384kg, the RAV4 EV tips the scales at 1838kg.

Power goes to the front wheels exclusively, and the RAV4 EV has a claimed range of 166km on a full charge and a top speed of 160km/h. Via a standard US 120V/12A power point the RAV4 EV takes around 44 hours to fully charge, although a 240V charging station can reduce this time to between five and 12 hours.

At its launch in 2012, Toyota said that it aimed to sell 2600 RAV EVs over three years. The RAV4 EV carries a sticker price of US$49,800 ($53,200), although that excludes around US$10,000 worth of available government incentives for electric vehicles.

Toyota spokesman John Hanson told Bloomberg: "This was a project for a specific number of vehicles that we planned to sell for a specific number of years, [but] we have not made any announcement about the relationship or what we’ll do with Tesla in the future."

California-based Tesla is also remaining tight-lipped on any further collaboration with Toyota, which owns 2.4 per cent of the company. Later this year Tesla will begin producing electric drivetrains for Daimler for use in its upcoming Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive, which, unlike the RAV4 EV, will be sold in various markets across the US and around the world.

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