Only 600 electric Scion iQs to be produced in 2012; 100 coming to U.S.

Back in July, Toyota officially confirmed that the electric Scion iQ will hit U.S. dealerships in 2012. A few weeks later, the Japanese automaker revealed that the electrified Scion iQ will be a fleet-only vehicle.

Now, there's word that Toyota will only ship 100 electric iQs from Japan to the U.S. in 2012. According to Integrity Exports, 2012 production for the electric iQ is going to be a mere 600 units, with 400 of the battery-powered minicars staying in Japan, leaving just 200 for the rest of the world.

Why only 100 for the U.S.? Well, Toyota's electrified minicar, with its estimated range of 50 miles, will face fierce competition from vehicles like the 73-mile rated Nissan Leaf and the 62-mile rated Mitsubishi i. Of course, the battery-powered Scion iQ's MSRP has not been announced, but we'd assume the vehicle's price and its limited range played some sort of role in Toyota's decision to severely limit U.S. deliveries.