Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest maker of hybrid autos, said its electric RAV4 sport utility vehicle with batteries and motor from Tesla Motors Inc. will cost more than twice as much as the gasoline version.
Toyota will sell the RAV4 EV for $49,800 this year in California, and plans to deliver 2,600 units over the next three years, the company said Monday at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles. The base price of a 2012 RAV4 with a 2.5-liter gasoline engine is $22,650 on Toyota's website.
"We think the 2,600 unit figure is reasonable for this product. We want to set a precedent to see how the market develops," Bob Carter, Toyota's group vice president of U.S. sales, said in an interview. "This is going to be the market's only electric SUV."