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- Toyota could supply the vehicle platform for the small electric SUV, Tesla the drive
- Electric SUV or small car?
- Extremely low base price
- Tesla’s door opener for the Japanese market?
- There was already a cooperation in 2010
Toyota could supply the vehicle platform for the small electric SUV, Tesla the drive
At Tesla Battery Day in the fall, Elon Musk officially announced that he would bring an electric car to market for just $ 25,000 in 2023. The US brand could team up with Toyota for this project. This is now reported by Chosun Ilbo, the Korean daily with the highest circulation.
Toyota will provide the vehicle platform and Tesla the drive and software for the cooperation. The partnership has been under discussion since last year and, according to the report, is about to be concluded.
Electric SUV or small car?
According to Chosun’s report, it is a small electric SUV and not a normal hatchback, as we previously thought. Elon Musk only spoke of a "passenger car" that should be smaller than the Model 3. Also the rendering of @Theottle (see above) shows a small car rather than an SUV. But the boundaries between the segments are known to be fluid with electric cars, and the model also looks a little chubby on the renderings.
Extremely low base price
In contradiction to the Chosun article is a report from a Chinese website from February, according to which the model probably called "Model 2" is to be based on the same basis as the Model 3. However, this variant may have turned out to be too expensive.
Because the targeted price of 25,000 dollars or 21,000 euros is extremely low. You don’t even get an electric smart in this country for that. The cheapest Model 3 is available in the USA from 37,000 euros before funding. In cooperation with Toyota, the development and production costs could be reduced. Time to market could also be shortened by using existing technology, the article says.
Tesla‘s door opener for the Japanese market?
Such a cooperation would allow Toyota to make further progress with all-electric cars. So far, the Japanese brand only offers an electric version of the C-HR in China on. That being said, Toyota still has plug-in hybrid versions of the RAV4 and the Prius in the portfolio, the Mirai fuel cell car as well as lots of full hybrids.
There was already a cooperation in 2010
A cooperation between Tesla and Toyota is nothing completely new. For example, the second generation of the Toyota RAV4 with electric drive (sold exclusively in California and to fleets in other US states) had the battery and powertrain from Tesla. With this vehicle, Toyota complied with the California regulation, according to which the six largest automakers in the state must offer at least one all-electric car.
The collaboration also included a $ 50 million Toyota investment in Tesla. Toyota sold the Tesla shares acquired in 2010 (of a maximum of 3.2 percent) in 2017. The collaboration between the two automobile manufacturers ended. In 2014, Bloomberg reported, citing Insider, that "the partnership has been tarnished by conflicts between engineers." But obviously the two manufacturers now want to wipe out the gap and launch a new cooperation.
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