TOYOTA DEBUTS 160KM RANGE RAV4 EV

Toyota today debuted a Toyota RAV4 Electric Vehicle at a news conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

A total of 35 vehicles will be built for a demonstration and evaluation program through 2011, aiming at market arrival of a fully-engineered vehicle in 2012.

The fully-engineered vehicle will have a target range of 160km in actual road driving patterns, in a wide range of climates and conditions.

"When we decided to work together on the RAV4 EV, President Akio Toyoda wanted to adopt a new development model that incorporated Tesla's streamlined, quick-action approach," said Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer, TMS.

"The result was a hybrid - a new decision and approval process and a development style that our engineers refer to as 'fast and flexible'."

Led by the Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America (TEMA) Technical Center in Michigan, the new development model helped reduce development time without compromising product quality.

The team has accomplished this by approaching the project as they would a typical mid-cycle "major-minor" product change.

Specifically, midway through a generation, the team began with a fully engineered current-generation RAV4, to which was added a major powertrain option, along with minor feature and cosmetic changes.

Tesla was responsible for building and supplying the battery, as well as other related parts, that met specific Toyota engineering specifications in performance, quality and durability.

Toyota was responsible for development and manufacturing leadership and the seamless integration of the powertrain.

"From the beginning, the customer experience has been the focus," said Lentz. "In other words, how do we deliver an unconventional product to mainstream customers that is compelling and affordable and that offers an acceptable level of daily convenience?"

A large part of the team's focus on the customer experience targeted driveability. In this case, 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 yet it will accelerate from 0-100kmh nearly as quickly.

This added weight factor required significant retuning of major components and a prioritised focus on weight distribution. 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 demonstration vehicle Toyota is currently testing is powered by a lithium metal oxide battery with useable output rated in the mid-30kwh range.

However, many decisions regarding both the product, as well as the business model, have not been finalised. Battery size and final output ratings, as well as pricing and volume projections of the vehicle Toyota plans to bring to market in 2012, have not been decided.

Tesla will build the battery and related parts and components at its new facility in Palo Alto, California. The method and installation location of the Tesla components into the vehicle is being discussed.

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

New EV badging and the custom "mutually exclusive" paint colour, completed the transformation. The interior received custom seat trim, multimedia dash displays, push-button shifter and dashboard meters. No cargo space was lost in the conversion to an electric powertrain.

Mr Lentz said there was a growing level of awareness that sustainable mobility will come at a cost that must be shared by the automakers, government and the consumer.

Toyota's approach to sustainable mobility focuses on the world's future reliance on mobility systems tailored to specific regions or markets, rather than individual models or technologies. It acknowledges that no one technology will be the "winner".

Toyota's comprehensive technology strategy is a portfolio approach that includes a long-term commitment to hydrogen fuel cells, plug-in hybrids and battery electrics all driven by the further proliferation of conventional petrol-electric hybrids, like Prius, as its core technology.

Toyota has announced that coinciding with the arrival of the RAV4 EV in 2012 it will launch, in key global markets, the Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid) and a small EV commuter vehicle. In 2015 or sooner, it will also launch, in key global markets, its first commercialised hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Finally, by the end of 2012, Toyota will add seven all new hybrid models to its portfolio.