トヨタの「みなしご電気自動車」RAV4 EV

自動車

当地ではたまに見かける。
IMG_20110305_185528

Wikipediaによれば

The RAV4 EV was an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota. It was leased from 1997 to 2003, and at the lessees request, many units were sold after the vehicle was discontinued. A total of 1,485 were leased and/or sold in California to meet the state’s mandate for Zero-Emission vehicle. As of the second half of 2010 there are almost 750 units still in use. In July 2010 Toyota announced that is working together with Tesla Motors to develop a second generation RAV4 EV, and the companies expect the vehicle to be mass produced by 2012.

  • カリフォルニア州の低公害自動車規定を満たすために1997-2003年の間に1485台が販売された。
  • 今は750台程度が残存。
  • 来年迄にはTeslaと共同生産の新型がでてくる*1。

再び同Wikipediaより。

Whether or not Toyota wanted to continue production, it was unlikely to be able to do so because the EV-95 battery was no longer available. Chevron had inherited control of the worldwide patent rights for the NiMH EV-95 battery when it merged with Texaco, which had purchased them from General Motors. Chevron's unit won a USD 30,000,000 settlement from Toyota and Panasonic, and the production line for the large NiMH batteries was closed down and dismantled. This case was settled in the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and not publicised due to a gag order placed on all parties involved. Only smaller NiMH batteries, incapable of powering an electric vehicle or plugging in, are currently allowed by Chevron-Texaco.

同EVが搭載していた電池は米国での特許問題にひっかかり、トヨタとパナソニックは特許を保有していたChevronに対して3000万ドルを支払い、EVの生産は中止される。その特許は元々GMが所有していたが、Texacoが買取り、それが合併でChevronに移ったわけ。特許紛争裁定の内容は非公開。

後継もなく唐突に市場から消えたので、口の悪い人は「トヨタの孤児(Children Orphaned)」と呼んでいたのを覚えている。

*1:はず。Teslaが生き残れば。