Toyota: Electrics coming, but won’t replace gas cars

Electric cars are no replacement for conventional cars, despite what you might have read.

That’s the conclusion of Bill Reinert, Toyota’s manager of advanced technology planning. In an interview at a New York City conference on sustainable development, Reinert said the company would produce an electric version of it’s tiny Scion iQ. He added that the company is looking at new business models for electric cars, and it won’t be focused on suburban use.

Electric cars may make the most sense to operate in the city, where vehicles usually drive at low speeds and for short distances. However, a real challenge for city use is that most urban dwellings don’t have dedicated parking with access to a plug. So plug-in cars that work on the expectation that consumers will charge them every night at home won’t work.

So, Toyota says it is looking at “new business models,” such as car sharing, leasing batteries or cars, and fleet sales for its EVs. Some will be sold to traditional consumers as well, he says.

Toyota announced that it will put 500 plug-in Priuses on the street in a fleet demonstration program in 2009, with 200 examples in Japan, 150 in Europe, and 150 in the United States. Powered by lithium-ion batteries along with a gasoline engine, these initial plug-in vehicles will be for fleet use, with no opportunity for sale to customers.

In the end, Toyota predicts that perhaps 20 percent of vehicles will be electric by 2020.

—Eric Evarts

Updated 6/12/09