strider
Active Member
Yeah, they're being awfully cagey about a car that is supposed to ship in 2012. I would think they would be educating the dealers, taking reservations, etc.
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The New RAV4 EV
- Thread starter EVNow
- Start date
From what I undrstand the initial release for 2012 is 700 cars, and all have been sold. The local dealership I ordered mine through offered to buy it back!
It's unlikely the dealer would know. However, Toyota has a history of disliking electric cars (even though they can be good at making them). The Prius only came about because Toyota was desperate (and no, the Prius is not an electric car). In the early 1990s Toyota had a big problem: They were losing market share in Japan rapidly and no one under 55 was purchasing Toyotas because they were considered to have no technical innovation. It was so bad that 40% market share (in Japan) looked like an unachievable goal (traditionally Toyota had up to an 80% market share in Japan). To solve this, Toyota cut through the bureaucracy and basically put their top engineers from various disciplines in a room and let them design something. They never actually expected to get a salable car out of the exercise. What they were looking for was new technology that they could put in their existing lines.
The first RAV4-EV was made in response to the California legislation. However, Toyota joined with the other auto makers to defeat the original legislation. And talked about the RAV4-EV in derisive terms such as "the battery carrier". They were going to crush them just like GM but they saw all the negative publicity and relented.
My own opinion is that Toyota is afraid of dealer push back so they are doing the bare minimum to electrify. BEVs will kill most of the parts and service revenue stream for the dealers. And in the U.S. two big regions (SE and GST) are not owned by Toyota. Those two regions have considerable negotiating power. The dealers already dislike the Prius because it has lower service requirements then a traditional gas car--although the service schedule isn't much different, the actual amount of work done is less and there are fewer parts to break so the overall service cost is lower.
They had a buyer ready to pay a premium. I did not ask how much. I was not interested in relinquishing my position.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
How are there fewer parts to break? Substitute the twin motors and planetary gearset for the transmission, and you still have the battery and power electronics/charger. (Apologies, off topic)
JRP3 said: "So they are selling these outright, not leasing? "
That is what I have been told, and Toyota has released to date. That said, information has been VERY minimal!
That is what I have been told, and Toyota has released to date. That said, information has been VERY minimal!
Off the top of my head:
1. No alternator.
2. No clutch or fluid coupling.
3. No belts (2010 or later, one belt that only runs the engine water pump 2004-2009)
4. The automatic transmission with it's hundreds of parts has been replaced by a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential.
5. No starter motor.
6. The Prius never experiences a cold start because the engine is spun up by MG1 to running speed before fuel and spark are added.
Compare this to the Honda design, which basically replaces the flywheel with an electric motor but has all the other old fashioned car parts left in.
Yes, the Prius is far more complex than a real BEV, but it has replaced a large number of mechanical parts with more reliable electronic parts.
You may be right for some dealers but I know my local Toyota dealer is dying to get the e-Rav4. For 4 years they held the distinction of selling the highest number of Priuses for the size of their market of any Toyota dealer in the country. Their biggest selling car right now is the Rav4 AWD. The general manager says that Toyota tells him nothing. He checks in with me periodically to see if I've heard anything that he hasn't regarding release dates etc. He can hardly wait to start selling them.
Too bad it sounds like the New RAV4 EV will only be FWD. Though I wonder if they offered AWD, would it compete too closely with the Model X.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
They didn't structure the battery pack to allow for the rear driveshaft, and if they went with dual motors it would increase the cost. AWD would also impact range. Plus the original RAV4EV was only front wheel drive. I would have liked to see AWD but did not expect it. Yet.
This the same B-roll posted in this thread a year and a half ago, only this time with lower resolution. I haven't seen a lot of progress since then. The special website Toyota set up (http://www.toyotarav4ev.com/) is now dead, and if you click "Hybrids and EV's on their official website (http://www.toyota.com/hybrid/) it has no mention.
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I see three different interiors here; one with the Roadster 2.0 push-buttons (which we saw well over a year ago) and two others.
What's what?
I thought it looked familiar, but seemed to be uploaded directly by Toyota comms a couple weeks ago.
Here is one that has been out for awhile, but I had not seen this one.
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smorgasbord
Active Member
If I understood the guy correctly, the battery capacity is 37kWh and the real world range in 100 miles. That means they're expecting to eat up 370 watts per mile, which is higher than the real world draw of my Roadster. I'm guessing the Rav4 weighs quite a bit more, and they're probably not counting all the capacity as useable, but even so that seems like a pretty big penalty.
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