http://cars.chicagotribune.com/fuel-efficient/news/chi-toyota-lowers-price-of-rav4-ev-20130827 Toyota lowers price of RAV4 EV Aug. 27, 2013 By Robert Duffer, Chicago Tribune
[image http://www.trbimg.com/img-521cc643/turbine/chi-toyota-lowers-price-of-rav4-ev-20130827-001/620 http://cars.chicagotribune.com/fuel-efficient/news/chi-10-electric-vehicles-available-in-chicagoland-20130528 gallery ] Plug-in vehicle pricing wars benefit consumers as automakers scramble to meet California's rigid Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. To meet sales expectations in California, Toyota has dropped the price of the all-electric RAV4. (Toyota ) Toyota has entered the RAV4 EV in the electric vehicle price wars. Through September 3, the lease rate of the electric crossover with the Tesla motor has been discounted to $299 a month for a three-year lease, reports Bloomberg news. Toyota is also offering a 60-month, no-interest loan. Though the crossover class is the hottest segment of the automotive industry, the limited-release RAV4 EV has not met sales expectations. Sales through July were 709, well off pace to meet Toyota’s projected 2,600 units by the end of 2014. It’s available only in California, home to the largest number of hybrids and plug-ins in the country due to the state’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which aims to have 15 percent of all cars sold emission free by 2025. Toyota follows other automakers engaged in lease and price wars. The Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500e and the Chevy Spark can be leased for $199 a month. In June, Honda dropped the Fit EV from $389 to $259 a month. In July, Ford slashed the Focus EV by $4,000. In August, GM cut $5,000 off the sticker price of the Chevy Volt. Price reductions in the Volt and Leaf have arisen from the economies of scale of increased production: Each unit becomes cheaper to make as more units are produced. Additionally, one of the biggest per unit costs of a plug-in, the lithium ion battery, has dropped dramatically from $1,000/kwh to $600/kwh. The main motivation for the electric vehicle price wars, however, is to move units at a discount and reevaluate the strategy given the ZEV Effect. Thanks to the ubiquitous Prius, Toyota has the biggest share of California’s auto market and the most intense pressure to meet the ZEV standards. In the battleground for the future of electrified vehicles, the RAV4 EV might be the first casualty of the ZEV Effect. Generally, it’s a great time to buy a plug-in since lease wars are making the cost of plug-ins equivalent to gas counterparts. That's not the case for the RAV4 EV. A $49,800 RAV4 EV is a tough sell, even with the discounts and an MPGe of 78/74 city/highway. The 2014 RAV4 starts at $23,300 and gets 24/31 city/highway mpg. The Toyota Highlander SUV hybrid starts at $40,170. The Toyota-owned 2013 Lexus RX 450h gas hybrid starts at $46,310. A crossover plug-in is difficult to make economically viable, more so than a hybrid. Ford ditched the Escape Hybrid in exchange for the more versatile and compact C-Max. The C-Max Hybrid starts at $25,200; the plug-in-hybrid C-Max Energi starts at $32,950. Currently, Volkswagen and Porsche are introducing diesel models of the Touareg and Cayenne, respectively, to complement or possibly supplant the hybrid models. To reach its sales target, Toyota might have to better promote the Tesla battery and motor powering the RAV4 EV. Toyota has benefitred from the relationship thus far. The Japanese automaker has a 2.4 percent stake in Tesla, which has seen its shares increase fivefold this year, according to Bloomberg. [© chicagotribune.com] For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date Here are today's archive-only EV posts: EVLN: EV-Lite can produce battery packs for half the cost EVLN: e2o EV rally raises awareness about sustainable mobility EVLN: Next-Gen Electric Motorcycle Design EVLN: Plugins on American roads now outnumber the gas stations EVLN: Dutch Tesla-S Gets 625km @38kph On Single Charge + EVLN: Why Men Love Their Teslas {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Plugin-pricing-wars-as-automakers-scramble-to-meet-CA-s-mandate-tp4664979.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
