“The Tesla-Toyota joint development team has agreed that building the vehicle at the Woodstock plant on the same line as the gasoline-powered RAV4, will streamline and simplify the production process and guarantee the highest level of quality control,” said Ray Tanguay, TMMC Chairman. “This is a great example of Toyota’s determination to collaborate with companies with leading edge technology.”
Toyota will pay Tesla approximately $100 million to supply the electric powertrain, which includes the battery, motor, gear box and power electronics for the RAV4 EV.
Tesla will build the electric powertrains at its production facility in Palo Alto, California and then ship them to TMMC for final assembly into the vehicle.
Pricing, volume and distribution of the new electric vehicle will be announced at a later time, the companies said.
Last year, Tesla and Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing, America (TEMA) collaborated to convert 32 conventional gas-engine RAV4 compact SUVs into fully functional RAV4 EV prototypes.
The RAV4 EV is one of several advanced-technology new products coming from Toyota over the next few years.
In addition to expanding the Prius family with the upcoming Prius v and Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Toyota will introduce an electric version of the Scion iQ in 2012 and a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle by 2015.
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