At last year’s Los Angeles auto show, Toyota showed off the electric RAV4 EV that it developed in collaboration with Tesla, and the company stated then that it planned to bring the electric crossover to market in 2012. Today Toyota confirmed that the RAV4 EV will definitely go on sale in 2012, and that it will definitely be sold to the general public. Note that Toyota explicitly says “sold,” which implies that getting your hands on one won’t be a lease-only affair, like, say, the Mini E. Toyota also will bring an electric Scion iQ to market in 2012, but the tiny runabout won’t be offered to private owners, instead being reserved for torture in vehicle fleets and via car-sharing operations. (The RAV4 EV also will be available to these clients.)
At the RAV4’s L.A. reveal, we described the rig’s 2012 on-sale target as “a bit nebulous” given the vagueness of Toyota’s business model for the battery-powered RAV4, but today’s confirmation means the automaker is apparently on track to meet its stated on-sale date.
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