Toyota To Focus On Long-Range Electric Cars

This is a dramatic shift in strategy as it had earlier said it will concentrate on short-distance commuting due to the high price of rechargeable batteries and long charging times.

Rivals such as Nissan Motor and Volkswagen have vouchedfor pure electric cars as the most zero-emission for the future.

By bringing the long-range electric car to its portfolio, Toyota would beshifting its stance from promoting plug-in petrol-electric hybrid cars and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) and the most promising optional to conventional cars.

As per certain reports, Toyota will be setting up a team in 2017 dedicated to developing EVs that can travel more than 300km on a single charge.

Plans include considering existing models such as the Prius hybrid and Corolla for the long-range EVs.

Japan is all set to host the 2020 summer Olympics and Toyota will begin selling its first long-range EV in the same year as well markets such as California where automakers need to sell a certain portion of zero-emission cars.

Toyota sells the Prius hybrid and the new approach comes amid heightened requirement for long-range EVs.

Many of the car makers are developing or in the process of ideating the prospects of long-range mass-market EVs for the future.