Tesla, Toyota to Build Electric RAV4

Silicon Valley electric carmaker Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. announced that the
two companies will develop an electric version of Toyota’s popular RAV4 SUV.

With an aim to market the EV in the United States in 2012, prototypes will be made combining the Toyota RAV4 model with a Tesla electric powertrain.

According to an agreement, Tesla will produce and deliver a fleet of prototypes to Toyota for evaluation within this year. The first prototype has already been built and is now undergoing testing.

Toyota struck a partnership with Tesla in May, in which it sold Tesla a factory in California and invested $50 million in the electric car maker, which went public earlier this month.

The project with Tesla is separate from a previously announced electric car Toyota plans to sell by 2012, Toyoda said.

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