Autoblog

Tesla and Toyota to develop RAV4 EV, hope to launch in 2012

Autoblog Staff — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:59:00 EST

Toyota RAV4 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota and Tesla have officially announced that the electric prototypes being developed by the California startup are based on the RAV4 crossover, and the two companies hope to have a production version ready by 2012. When we sat down with Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda last week, he revealed that an initial prototype was being built with a Tesla electric powertrain. Since then, Tesla CTO JB Straubel revealed that his engineering team was preparing two vehicles based on an existing Toyota platform for delivery by the end of July.

If the project comes to fruition, it will be great news for fans of the original RAV4 EV which debuted in the late 1990s. Several hundred of those vehicles are still on the road today and regularly turn up for sale on eBay Motors at premium prices.

The new RAV4s will use Tesla's liquid cooled lithium ion battery configuration that contains thousands of commodity laptop cells. The first prototype is already running and a larger fleet will be prepared this year for durability testing by Toyota.

Gallery: 2009 Toyota RAV4

[Source: Tesla]

Continue reading Tesla and Toyota to develop RAV4 EV, hope to launch in 2012

Tesla and Toyota to develop RAV4 EV, hope to launch in 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MT: Electric supercar from Toyota in the works?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:59:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Toyota, Rumormill, Tesla, Electric

We're taking this news with a grain of salt for now, but Motor Trend is reporting that Toyota is hard at work on a fully electric supercar. If there's any truth to this report, Toyota President Akio Toyoda was so impressed after a spin in Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster that he immediately green-lit a feasibility study into the electric supercar project.

Lending at least an air of credence to this story is the fact that Toyota and Tesla are indeed working together in some as-yet-unknown capacity, and rumors of electric Toyota SUV mules powered by Tesla battery packs have abounded ever since the announcement was made. That said, some existing platforms converted to electric drive is a far cry from a completely new electric supercar.

In any case, Toyota's supposed electric supercar would theoretically go up against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E-Cell, Audi e-tron and whatever BMW's Efficient Dynamics movement has cooking up. We should also point out that Toyota has indeed shown off a number of hybrid sportscar and electric vehicle concepts over the last few years, so such a project wouldn't be completely out of the blue.

[Source: Motor Trend]

MT: Electric supercar from Toyota in the works? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #186 - The PT Cruiser is dead, blind drivers, Tesla and Toyota, and more!

Dan Roth — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:45:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, GM, Lexus, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota, Tesla

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Chris Shunk, Alex Nunez, Sam Abuelsamid and Dan Roth convene yet again for Episode #186 of the Autoblog Podcast. Topics are the final passing of the long-suffering Chrysler PT Cruiser, General Motors' "Build your own engine" for Chevrolet Corvette buyers, Tesla and its dalliance with Toyota prototypes, and the work being undertaken to develop vehicles that can be driven by the blind. There's the inevitable tangential excursions, and we finish up by responding to your feedback and questions before wrapping at an hour and twenty-five minutes. Thanks for listening, see you next time!

Autoblog Podcast #186 - The PT Cruiser is dead, blind drivers, Tesla and Toyota, and more!

In the Autoblog Garage:

Porsche Boxster Spyder
Buick LaCrosse CX
Lexus LS 460L AWD
Subaru Legacy 2.5i

News:

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Sam Abuelsamid, Alex Nunez, Chris Shunk

Runtime: 85:46

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #186 - The PT Cruiser is dead, blind drivers, Tesla and Toyota, and more! originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those two mystery Tesla prototypes for Toyota? Bloomberg says RAV4 and Lexus RX

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:27:00 EST

Filed under: Crossover, Toyota, Tesla, Electric

Toyota has several fingers in a few electric pies. There's the electric car it's working on in-house, in conjunction with Panasonic, using proprietary technology. Then there are two mash-up prototypes that Tesla is building for Toyota, which according to Bloomberg include an electric RAV4 and Lexus RX. According to the report, the crossovers were chosen because they're the best fit for the weight of Tesla's battery pack, which uses 6,831 lithium-ion batteries.

Even though the Elon Musk says he expects, "range and acceleration exceeding that of other announced electric vehicles of this class," we wonder if he's including a crossover like the BYD e6. The electric SUV from China is currently testing in the Shenzhen taxi fleet and claimed to have a range of 186 miles. If that's his target, then the numbers would exceed the figures Toyota has for the joint project, with an ideal cost of "about $40,000 with 150 miles (240 kilometers) of driving range per charge."

Tesla's electrified RAV4 and Lexus RX are predicted to be delivered to Toyota this month, so expect a barrage of news to be forthcoming.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Those two mystery Tesla prototypes for Toyota? Bloomberg says RAV4 and Lexus RX originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #186

Dan Roth — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

Click above to subscribe to The Autoblog Podcast in iTunes

Got a question for our intrepid team of podcasters? Now's the time to ask away. Don't forget to vote on which questions deserve our attention the most, though we'll try to get to as many as we can. Discussion topics for Autoblog Podcast #183, which we'll record tonight, can be found below. Finally, subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already to hear your question answered.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #186

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Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #186 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Tesla CTO confirms building two mules for Toyota

Sam Abuelsamid — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:35:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Tesla, Electric

AutoblogGreen had the rare opportunity on Friday to chat with Toyota CEO and president Akio Toyoda. During the conversation, he revealed that a prototype vehicle with a Tesla electric drive unit was under construction. Tesla's Chief Technology Officer, J.B. Straubel, has confirmed this to CNN Money, saying that the Silicon Valley company is indeed preparing two mule vehicles for Toyota. Tesla battery packs, power electronics and motors are being installed into Toyota bodies.

Straubel expects to deliver the vehicles to Toyota by the end of of this month. Toyota officials told ABG that the initial plan is to just test the performance and durability of the Tesla packs to determine whether they meet Toyota standards. If Toyota proceeds with a production program using a Tesla-style battery (employing small laptop-type cells) it will be for a new vehicle, not the iQ-based EV arriving in 2012.

[Source: CNN Money]

Report: Tesla CTO confirms building two mules for Toyota originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Toyota, Tesla to jointly develop electric prototype by year's end

Autoblog Staff — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Rumormill, Tesla, Electric

Just a few days back, we glanced over Tesla's amended IPO statement and discovered some well-buried words that suggested Tesla and Toyota may never work together on the development of an electric vehicles. The words from Tesla actually read, "We have not entered into any agreements with Toyota for any such arrangements, including any purchase orders, and we may never do so."

Tesla snuck that word "may" in there, leaving the possibility open that some sort of jointly-developed vehicle may come in the future. If a report surfacing from the Nikkei newspaper in Japan is accurate, Tesla and Toyota may have already struck a deal to develop an electric prototype by the end of the year.

The Nikkei doesn't provide much to go on, nor does it give many specifics. Without detailed info or confirmed sources, we'll have to call this one nothing more than a rumor, but we certainly hope that it pans out to be true. Here's what the Nikkei reported:

Upon forming capital and business ties last month, Toyota and Tesla said that they will jointly develop electric vehicles and share expertise, such as Tesla's electric-vehicle technologies and Toyota's production know-how. As the first step, the two firms aim to develop a prototype based on a current Toyota model using Tesla's lithium-ion-battery-based system. Actively utilizing Tesla's technologies will likely enable Toyota to lower the cost of its future electric vehicles, a Toyota executive said.

Like we said, we can't confirm any of this yet and it may just be a well-placed rumor, but it piques our interest and we'll certainly keep a close eye on it.

[Source: Nikkei via Green Car Congress | Image: Speculative rendering by reader Joona Kallio]

Rumormill: Toyota, Tesla to jointly develop electric prototype by year's end originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Full details on Tesla/NUMMI deal disclosed

Sam Abuelsamid — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:58:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Tesla, Electric

Tesla Model S - Click above for high-res image gallery

Tesla Motors announced last week that it was definitely going to build ist Model S at the former NUMMI factory in Fremont, California. Or it might not. This isn't the first announcement about where this car might be produced. That was way back in February 2007 when the car was still being referred to as Whitestar and it was planned to be built in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along the way it was also going to be built in San Jose and most recently southern California.

The big surprise press conference held last week with CEO Elon Musk, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda caught everyone completely by surprise and apparently almost none of the i's have been dotted, nor have many t's been crossed. At the time, Musk announced that Tesla would be buying one of three parcels that make up the NUMMI facility, that being the one that includes the actual building facility. Regulatory documents filed by Tesla this week in advance of its upcoming initial public stock offering indicate that Tesla is to pay Toyota $42 million for the building out of its IPO proceeds. That price, however, does not include production equipment, which may go a long ways toward explaining why Tesla got such a "good deal" compared to the $130 million that Fisker paid for a closed General Motors plant in Delaware.

If Tesla wants any of the equipment left behind at the NUMMI facility, it will have to buy that separately at an upcoming auction. Of course, it won't actually need most of it for some time since the company only plans to build about 20,000 cars per year in a plant with a capacity 25 times that.

The product collaboration agreement between Toyota and Tesla is also just that so far, an agreement to collaborate with no additional details specified right now. And that $50 million that Toyota is to invest in Tesla? That will only happen if the IPO actually happens in 2010 and it will be at the offering price. So Toyota's investment may garner it either more or less stock than the nine percent that Daimler got last year for the same price.

Gallery: Tesla Model S in motion

[Source: Green Car Advisor]

Full details on Tesla/NUMMI deal disclosed originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #179 - We answer your queries

Dan Roth — Tue, 25 May 2010 17:45:00 EST

Filed under: Podcasts, Hybrid, Etc., Government/Legal, Plants/Manufacturing, Buick, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Toyota, Tesla, Electric

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

We solicited your questions for Episode #179 of the Autoblog Podcast, and then Chris, Sam, Dan, and Chris Paukert proceeded to answer them. News topics we cover are the Buick Regal GS, Toyota and Tesla getting together, Ford's next-generation Explorer Police SUV, and the push for increased fuel economy standards by 2025.

Autoblog Podcast #179: We answer your queries

In the Autoblog Garage:

Ford Taurus SHO
Dodge Dakota
GMC Terrain

News:

Hosts:
Chris Shunk, Chris Paukert, Dan Roth, Sam Abuelsamid

Runtime: 1:18:02

Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly

Feedback:
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Voicemail: 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763)

Review the show in iTunes and take our survey

Autoblog Podcast #179 - We answer your queries originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 May 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: Toyota and Tesla to partner on EV production in California

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:27:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Tesla, Electric

Tesla Model S - Click above for high-res image

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda held a joint press in Palo Alto, California to announce that the two companies would be collaborating on electric vehicle development and production, with Tesla will taking over the recently closed NUMMI factory in Fremont, CA to produce the Model S sedan.

Toyota will invest $50 million for a private placement of Tesla common stock and the state of California will provide a sales tax abatement to Tesla for capital equipment expenditures to tool up the plant. Musk estimated that the abatement will amount to about $20 million over the next several years.

According to Musk, production of the Model S will bring about 1,000 employees back to the NUMMI plant to produce about 20,000 cars a year at first, and as the facility expands - possibly to include the production of more models - it could employ up to 10,000 workers. Musk revealed that some employees have already been rehired, but was non-committal on the subject of union representation. NUMMI was the only Toyota plant in North America that was unionized.

An additional benefit to Tesla from this deal is that it will be able to take advantage of the Toyota production system and possibly some of Toyota's suppliers. That's sure to help Tesla avoid many of the logistical problems that hampered early Roadster production and costs.

Production of the Model S is still planned to start in 2012 and Musk said more advanced prototypes would be revealed later this year. No decisions have been made yet about additional vehicles to be produced at the plant which previously had a capacity of more than 300,000 vehicles a year.

The deal for the NUMMI plant leaves Downey, CA jilted at the altar with the city's mayor "feeling stabbed in the back by Tesla." The Toyota deal apparently came together very quickly and Musk acknowledged that he would still like to work with Downey, perhaps for a future Space-X facility. Hit the jump for all the details.

Gallery: Tesla Model S in motion

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading BREAKING: Toyota and Tesla to partner on EV production in California

BREAKING: Toyota and Tesla to partner on EV production in California originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 May 2010 20:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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