An announcement was made today that electric car company Tesla Motors will be partnering with Toyota to develop a new electric version of the RAV4.

The electric RAV4 was a popular car that developed a niche following that seemed to grow in popularity after the vehicle’s production run ended. Toyota offered its original version of the electric RAV4 SUV from 1997 to 2003. Its range was approximately 100 miles on a full charge and its top speed was just under 80 mph.

The RAV 4 is styled like a small SUV based on a car frame, and even Off-Road.com found it to be a fun vehicle to modify for off-road use (see the Trucklet build here).

The new electric RAV4 SUV will feature an electric powertrain supplied by Tesla. Tesla said it has already built a prototype and hopes to create a fleet of prototypes in the next year. According to the report by AP, the goal is to release a car in the U.S. in 2012. Despite Toyota’s 50 million investment in Tesla a few months ago, this is the first specific production agreement the companies have in place.

Tesla Motors went public at the end of June, and its opening created quite a buzz on opening day (trading under TSLA). The company currently offers one two-seater vehicle (the Roadster, retailing for just over $100,000)  and plans to offer another vehicle by 2012.

Source: www.AP.org