New electric car launched

Monday, 25 July 2011

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has announced that an electric version of its Scion iQ car is currently being assembled and will arrive in the USA by 2012.

Toyota’s first attempt at producing an electric vehicle was the RAV4EV, which was released in 1997. Since then, Toyota has been better known for its hybrid vehicles, so the media has welcomed the news of a new all-electric vehicle entering the market.

(Source: www.inhabitat.com)

But along with a revamped version of the RAV EV, it presented to dealers an electric version of their smallest car, the Scion iQ EV.
Inhabitat reports that the car is rather tiny, with a limited battery range.
Manufacturing of the car was seriously hampered by the natural disaster that recently struck Japan, but the industry has recovered sufficiently for executives to assure the market that models of the Scion iQ EV will be ready by next year.

Looking a bit like a little, souped-up Yaris, the Scion certainly looks attractive, and although it does have some drawbacks, like the fact that it can manage a maximum of just over 100km/h and can take no more than four passengers, it is bound to be appealing to urban drivers who will appreciate its compact size.

It will probably compete with other electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MIEV, although its price range has not yet been announced.

Toyota has also revealed big plans for more fuel-efficient cars and is currently researching bio-fuels and next-generation materials.

Its Entune multimedia system, which claims to be compatible with smart phones, will be released this year in the new Prius v and Camry.

At the Toyota national dealer’s conference in Las Vegas, which was attended by representatives of the company’s 1 233 US dealers, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda thanked dealers for their support and donations after the earthquake.

More than $11.5m was raised for Japan’s disaster relief fund.