Toyota Launching 3 More Green Cars by 2012
Friday, July 9th, 2010LeftLane News is reporting on the latest from Toyota. The automaker, which has always been at the front of the green tech movement, has committed to launching at least three new green vehicles by 2012.
According to a company representative, the new vehicles will include a plug-in version of the Prius, a battery electric vehicle, and a third vehicle, also likely to be a Prius variant, and all of them should be on dealer lots in the early part of 2012. As of yet, no details have been provided with regard to the Prius model, though it’s rumored to be the Prius Alpha, which is a more “people friendly” MPV version of the existing hybrid.
The battery electric vehicle (BEV) is cloaked in a bit more mystery, though there is speculation that it might be an electric version of the Toyota iQ, which will be named the Scion iQ here in the states. There was an electric version of this car on display at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has allegedly verified that his company is already testing cars with Tesla-provided battery packs, so it’s a possibility that the new BEV is a partnership effort between the two carmakers, though since Toyota has a battery deal in place with Panasonic, that is unlikely.