Toyota RAV4 EV hits California roads this summer at $49,800

Toyota RAV4 EV

The Toyota RAV4 EV – the electric version of the RAV4 – will hit the road in California in the summer. Costs $49,800.

After a bit of confusion last year when spokesman for Toyota claimed the RAV4 EV wouldn’t be sold to the general public – a statement quickly corrected by Toyota – the Toyota RAV4 EV is now going on sale. Sort of.

Toyota are offering the electric RAV4, developed in conjunction with Tesla at a cost fo $100 million and set to be built in Canada, at just four Toyota outlets in California – Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles Orange County and San Diego.

The electric RAV4 has a range of up to 100 miles (which with the AirCon on in California won’t happen) from a six hour charge on a 240V power supply for the batteries powering a 152bhp motor. Performance is said to be 0-60mph in 7 seconds in Sport mode and 8.6 seconds in ‘Normal’.

To set the electric RAV4 apart from its ICE engined siblings Toyota has given it a restyled fascia, more aerodynamic body and special “environmental blue” badges inside and out.

Toyota aren’t expecting to set the world on fire with the RAV4 EV, with just California getting the chance to buy and a sales target of just 2,600 sales in the next three years.

Which if that’s the sum total of the RAV4 EV’s sales then Toyota will have paid Tesla $38k of the $50k asking price just for the powertrains and batteries in the electric RAV4.