Toyota will start European road trials of an electric-powered version of its iQ city car from next year. It announced the study in a progress report on its product and technology strategies to use electricity and alternative power sources to develop low carbon vehicles that are less dependant on fossil fuels.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The iQ EV is scheduled to go on sale in the US in 2012 but the company said it was looking at its potential in other markets, including Europe, Japan and China.
The news of Toyota’s further development of its EV programme followed the unveiling last week of the RAV4 EV at the Los Angeles motor show; that’s a new model produced in partnership with electric vehicle specialist Tesla Motors that will also be sold in the US from 2012.
Toyota said it plans to launch 11 hybrid vehicles by the end of 2012, including both all-new and re-designed models. It has also confirmed that the Prius plug-in hybrid, currently undergoing a demonstration programme in London and other worldwide locations, will go on sale in Europe, Japan and the USA from early 2012. Toyota is expecting to sell around 50,000 cars a year, the majority in its home market.
Earlier this year, Toyota set up a new division to study next-generation battery production, with a team of around 100 researchers.
The options being investigated include solid-state batteries and metal-air batteries which have the potential to provide a much higher energy density than the lithium-ion type.
