Published July 16, 2010

Tesla Motors Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. have announced plans to develop a new version of the popular RAV4 electric vehicle that Toyota briefly sold to the public about 2002.

The two companies said they have "signed an agreement to initiate the development of an electric version of the RAV4 as announced in May of this year by Elon Musk and Akio Toyoda," the companies' chief executives.

The vehicles will combine the RAV4 body with a Tesla electric powertrain. The aim is to market the electric RAV4 in the United States in 2012, a year when many automakers are planning to introduce new EVs or to ramp up production of vehicles first rolled out in late 2010 and 2011.

The first prototype has been built and is undergoing testing, the companies said in a joint news release. Tesla is to build and deliver a fleet of prototypes to Toyota within the year.

Toyota made more than 1,500 RAV4 electric vehicles between 1997 and 2003, and sold several hundred to the U.S. public briefly in 2002. Many of these were sold in Southern California, where they may occasionally be seen on the roads and in driveways today. Others remain in operation as company fleet vehicles. Although the numbers aren't known, quite a few of the RAV4 electrics that were sold to the public went to solar-electric system installers and to homeowners with solar arrays.

The RAV4 electric models that were sold to the public contained rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride batteries, the type used in many small electronic devices. The new RAV4 electric vehicles, and virtually all new EVs, are expected to be outfitted with lithium battery packs like those that power Tesla's existing Roadster sports car.

The original RAV4 NiMH battery packs were rated at about 27 kilowatt-hours of storage capacity and offered a driving range of about 100 miles on a full charge. (Electric mileage, like gas mileage, can vary significantly depending on climate, terrain and driver habits.)

If the new RAV4 is about the same size as the original prototype electric and recent combustion versions, the new battery pack is also likely to be sized at about 24 to 30 kwh and to offer a range of about 100 miles or slightly more. It also may be possible to configure the vehicle for a considerably larger battery pack like the hefty 53-kwh version in the Roadster, which offers a driving range of about 200 miles or more.

In May, Tesla and Toyota announced their intent to cooperate in developing electric vehicles and parts, and to jointly work on production systems and engineering support. Toyota took an ownership stake in Tesla, which recently became a publicly traded company.

"Tesla seeks to learn and benefit from Toyota's engineering, manufacturing and production expertise, while Toyota aims to learn from Tesla's EV technology, daring spirit, quick decision-making and flexibility," the joint news release said.

Tesla has jointly marketed home solar photovoltaic installations with its all-electric Roadster. The company's founder is a strong proponent of solar energy adoption.

"The overarching purpose of Tesla, and my reason for personally funding the company, is to expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a sustainable, solar electric economy," Mr. Musk says on the Tesla Motors website.