$20,000 electric car: Toyota FT-EV

By Joshua Dowling in Detroit

Carsguide

11 January 2009

The Toyota FT-EV could be on the road for around $20,000. Photo Gallery

Toyota has unveiled a budget priced electric car that can be driven up to 80km without using a drop of petrol...

Just don’t drive further than that otherwise you’ll need a long extension cord.

The car could be sold in Australia from as little as $20,000 within three years, although this is not yet confirmed.

The Japanese maker fired the first shot on the eve of the 2009 Detroit motor show, revealing its surprise future model in the hometown of North America’s three biggest car makers.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Toyota FT-EV, writes PAUL GOVER from Detroit. The plug-in concept car is a seismic shift by the world's largest carmaker and the next step from its ambitious move into the hybrid world. Read more here...

Toyota’s announcement came as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler continue their fight for survival and calls for assistance from the US Government, and as the global economic crisis tightens its grip on the car industry.

The concept car is called the FT-EV and is based on a model called the iQ, which recently went on sale in Japan.

The tiny Toyota is bigger than a Smart city car but smaller than most other hatchbacks and can be fully recharged in a little more than seven hours.

It is due to go into production in Japan in 2012 and it could be on sale in Australia soon after.

“We are certainly looking at,” said Toyota Australia’s product planning manager Peter Evans. “It’s a fascinating vehicle. It is definitely one of our priorities for the Australian market. I think you will start to see a major shift towards these sorts of vehicles from 2012 and beyond.”

Toyota would not speculate on the retail price of its new electric car so far out from launch, but a similarly-sized petrol-powered hatchback costs about $15,000, and an electric motor and battery pack would likely add about $5000 to the cost of the car, say industry analysts, bringing the total close to $20,000.

Significantly, on battery power alone the tiny Toyota will travel almost 20km further than the Chevrolet Volt electric car to be made by General Motors.

However, the Toyota must be recharged after 80km, whereas the Volt has a petrol generator which extends total driving range up to 1000km.

The Toyota electric car is a tiny four-seater hatchback whereas the Volt is about the size of a Holden Astra sedan.

Both cars are due in Australia about the same time – by the end of 2012 – if all goes to plan.

A spokesman for Toyota in North America said last year’s spike in the price of petrol was no accident, and worse is to come.

In a statement issued to media, Irv Miller, Toyota Motor Sales group vice president, environmental and public affairs, said: “[The spike in the price of oil] was a brief glimpse of our future. We must address the inevitability of peak oil by developing vehicles powered by alternatives to liquid-oil fuel, as well as new concepts, like the iQ, that are lighter in weight and smaller in size. This kind of vehicle, electrified or not, is where our industry must focus its creativity.”

The comments echo those made by the boss of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, at last year’s Detroit motor show. In his address to media he said: “There is no doubt demand for oil is outpacing supply at a rapid pace, and has been for some time now. As a business necessity and an obligation to society we need to develop alternative sources of propulsion.”

Mr Wagoner cited US Department of Energy figures which show the world is consuming roughly 1000 barrels of oil every second of the day, and yet demand for oil is likely to increase by 70 per cent over the next 20 years.

Last year, Toyota announced it planned to sell one million petrol-electric hybrids annually from 2010, starting with at least 10 new hybrid vehicles.

Toyota is also trialing a large number of plug-in hybrid vehicles with fleet customers later this year, deploying across North America 500 Prius cars adapted with plug-in technology and using lithium-ion batteries.

Battery technology has been one of the biggest hurdles for electric cars because they are sensitive to extreme temperatures, are heavy and bulky to accommodate and costly and time-consuming to produce.

The 2009 Detroit Motor Show

Comments on this story

Displaying 10 of 60 comments

Page 1 of 6

It is staggering that so many people have posted here STUPID comments about coal fired power plants. Good to see some more switched on people posting sensible information about the unused offpeak capacity of those same power plants though. I would like to point out to those ignorant knockers that have their heads buried somewhere that is is possible and cheap to run your entire household, which would include your new electric transport on totally green power. Just do a couple of google searches or visit your electricity suppliers web site OR just visit Jack Green sites for a great deal. For goodness sake, it ONLY costs an additional $4.40pw to do. Less than the cost of the unecessary junk food you probably stuffed your face with today. You know the one that has made OZ the Fattest people in the world (Excuse the digression).

Beez of Brisbane Posted at 16 February 2009 7:03pm

It is staggering that so many people have posted here STUPID comments about coal fired power plants. Good to see some more switched on people posting sensible information about the unused offpeak capacity of those same power plants though. I would like to point out to those ignorant knockers that have their heads buried somewhere that is is possible and cheap to run your entire household, which would include your new electric transport on totally green power. Just do a couple of google searches or visit your electricity suppliers web site OR just visit Jack Green sites for a great deal. For goodness sake, it ONLY costs an additional $4.40pw to do. Less than the cost of the unecessary junk food you probably stuffed your face with today. You know the one that has made OZ the Fattest people in the world (Excuse the digression).

Beez of Brisbane Posted at 15 February 2009 10:18pm

Point 1. The reason that off-peak power is so cheap, is that during off-peak times we generate more power than we use. This is because you cannot just switch off a power station when the load drops and switch it on as load ramps up. So, charge your plug-in overnight and you may well just be soaking up surplus power. Sounds like a win/win Charge it during the day however would be a disaster (unless you've got a whopping solar array on your house to charge it from). Point 2. Petrol cars waste fuel/energy idling while you are sitting in traffic. Electric cars waste very little while at rest. Electric are also more efficient in stop/start traffic as they can reclaim braking energy.

Duane of Sydney Posted at 29 January 2009 6:06pm

why are people so negative? a car that will release you from the ball and chain of the petrol companies has got to be a good thing

Gavin Taylor Posted at 21 January 2009 4:00pm

I fail to understand why they make these cars look SO GAY AND STUPID!!!!

alex of taringa Posted at 15 January 2009 7:18pm

Rob S you seem to be missing the point. 90% of australia's population live in the city (number pulled out of my butt, but you get the gist), if those daily commuters didn't use petrol, there'd be more for the people in the country (and more importantly all those trucks that transport the food around). Those few of us who need to travel more than 80km a day (I rarely do more than 50 unless I go 4wd'ing) will reap the benefits of not paying for petrol, even (dare I say it) generating their own electricity for next to nothing. Free transport! Better still, a diesel-electric hybrid is more efficient even than the regular diesel powered 4WD, with greater low-end torque (as electric motors have maximum torque at zero rpm). And while driving around town needn't use a single drop of diesel if not required. If it can work for trains, why not cars? Battery capacity is the only thing holding it back, and that limit is starting to fall away with lithium batteries.

Ben Rypstra of Perth, WA Posted at 15 January 2009 5:00am

Sounds interesting, but why do designers of electric cars think they have to make them ugly and so different from conventional cars? Ugliness seems to be a trademark of almost every electric vehicle made, except for the Honda Civic (based on a standard design) and the Prius. Electric cars would have more market appeal if they had more conventional and stylish appearances.

Geoff Kelly of Adelaide Posted at 14 January 2009 10:06pm

It's not the purchase cost that counts but the maintenance costs too, just look at the comparison of all costs between a 3.8 V6 Mitsubishi 380 & Toyota's toxic Prius(toxic if you take into account disposal of old batteries & new batteries) the difference is just 32 cents a week. This little toy would be as useless as tits on a bull outside of the city. You know in the country where all the food comes from.

Robert Smissen of Murray Bridge South Australia Posted at 14 January 2009 4:53pm

Over- or under-estimate? You don't appear to know the difference between black and white. If this car truly represents a seismic shift for the auto industry, and is not something inconsequential, then you probably meant to say "it is impossible to OVERestimate the importance of the Toyota FT-EV", not UNDERestimate.

Stewart Midwinter of Calgary, Canada Posted at 13 January 2009 11:30am

This is very exiting for the average city commuter, who will be able use off-peak power and then eventually back that up with solar panels that charge your spare battery during the day - imagine that! What if the same spare battery could also be used to run the household if required. You may even have multiple batteries charging just as a standard battery drill does, but with free energy from the sun. All the while your busy using up you designated 80k to get around town, guilt free as your house puts any excess power back into the energy grid. For those that live in regional areas, the impact of 10% and then 20% of car uses being electric vehicle uses, say, over the next 10 to 20 years in the major cities may even steady and eventually reduce the demand for oil, thereby keep prices steady or even heading down. I would think that by then batteries would have improved enough for those country sceptics to enjoy too. Imagine that!

Dylan O'Brien of South Australia Posted at 13 January 2009 1:33am

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