Toyota RAV4 EV: Powered by Tesla – the tease

Toyota RAV4 Powered by Tesla - the tease

Back in May we reported that Toyota had fished down the back of the sofa for some loose change (£35 million – two days profits) and had thrown it in the general direction of Tesla. As part of the deal Tesla were to utilise the Toyota facility in Fremont, which stands empty but used to build Corollas and Tacomas.

Which all seemed quite odd. The cash injection by Toyota we get – for pocket change they get a piece of a high-profile EV maker – but the use of a factory that previously made 500k cars a year we don’t. Even when the Tesla Model S gets in to full swing (if…) and Tesla throws in a Tesla Model X SUV, they’re still not going to come with a million miles of making 500k cars a year.

Or maybe they won’t have to. Or not 500k Teslas, anyway. It could be that Toyota’s agenda is to utilise a chunk of the laptop-harnessing expertise Tesla has to churn out EVs based on the Toyota range, as we reported in July when we said Toyota were planning an electric RAV4 and an electric Lexus RX. Not that it seems remotely likely Toyota will manage to sell enough electric cars to fill the production gap, but they’re having a bash with the Tesla RAV4 Powered by Tesla.

The Toyota RAV4 EV is the first fruit from this slightly oddball collaboration and Toyota are going to roll it out at the Los Angeles Motor Show this month. It looks as if it does exactly what it says on the tin; a gazillion laptop batteries and an electric motor shoved in to the RAV4 by Tesla. But that’s all we know.

Toyota are doing the tease ahead of the release at LA so we get the teaser shot of the RAV4 EV’s speedo you see at the top to keep us amused. And that’s all we have for now. But based on Tesla’s track record it seems likely the RAV4 EV will have a range of less than 100 miles, weigh more than a Range Rover, do 0-60mph in under 5 seconds and cost £100k.

Or maybe that’s unfair?

By Cars UK