Stevenson Toyota Selling RAV4 EV in Colorado... or Not

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Spiffster

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Mar 23, 2013
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Location
Littleton, CO
http://www.stevinsontoyotaeast.com/models/toyota-rav4ev

Looks convincing, doesnt it? My assumption is this that they are using a generic website and didnt bother taking out the models they dont sell. Pretty lame. I did hear that the Stevenson (West) Denver location did have one in their showroom for a while, but it wasnt for sale. I wish Toyota would just grow some scones and sell them here in Colorado, they would sell VERY well.
 
Maybe, but they sure haven't sold very well here in California; only about 1200 since September 2012. That is pathetic sales for potentially such a big SUV "EV" market in California, but Toyota has not really even tried to advertise or promote the virtues of an electrified - 100+ mile range - RAV4 over here. It is strictly a "compliance car" and their relationship with Tesla is turning out to be a marriage made in HELL!
 
Tony,

What is the consequences of getting a "Compliance car"? I mean in terms of reliability, services etc.. I'm afraid those cars are just to fill up a law hole in the mean time so they can continue selling Gas.. Anyway, checking the warranty is very important, I asked about the battery warranty of RAV4 EV they just reply with the simple 8 years, 100,000 miles... I asked and what percentage loss is guaranteed.. they couldn't answer me that.. I was wondering if even Tesla has that? Or maybe tesla buyers are so deep pocketed that they don't care, they can switch the battery in the future paying coupe thousands.. but for the mass market that's not the reality.

Best
Daniel
 
Spiffster said:
http://www.stevinsontoyotaeast.com/models/toyota-rav4ev

Looks convincing, doesnt it? My assumption is this that they are using a generic website and didnt bother taking out the models they dont sell. Pretty lame. I did hear that the Stevenson (West) Denver location did have one in their showroom for a while, but it wasnt for sale. I wish Toyota would just grow some scones and sell them here in Colorado, they would sell VERY well.

Toyota loses big on every RAV they need to sell in CA so why would they want to lose more and create more servicing nightmares?
 
danhsu said:
Tony,

What is the consequences of getting a "Compliance car"? I mean in terms of reliability, services etc.. I'm afraid those cars are just to fill up a law hole in the mean time so they can continue selling Gas..l

Well, in general, you can read through the forum and see all the issues with this car. They went from concept to delivery in less than two years, and they did that to keep costs down and get the car sold in 2012 as a 2012 model. Even if the first one was sold in 2013, it was going to be a 2012 model.

So, we are all really beta testers, and it's likely that the Rav4 EV won't ever get out of beta.

For CARB-ZEV Compliance-only - cars like Toyota Rav4 EV, Honda Fit EV, GM Spark EV, Fiat/Chrysler 500e;, they are built because the manufacturer is required to build EV's.

In pure compliance with the rules, the manufacturer makes just the minimum so that they can continue to sell high profit margin oil cars. Anything beyond that is generally in the form of press releases and not cars. These cars are typically sold at a significant loss to their respective manufacturer.

Typically optimized for "100 miles", but practically have closer to 70-80 miles, and can be 40-50 miles with cold weather. Of course, Rav4 EV can really go significantly farther, but Toyota only needed 100 miles to get 3 CARB-ZEV credits. It's no surprise that it's rated at 103 miles by EPA.

Making the car go double the 100 mile range only produces 25% more credit hence no compliance-only cars are 200 mile range. They generally don't have ANY quick charge option, or offer a optional quick charge option that doesn't have charge stations.


Anyway, checking the warranty is very important, I asked about the battery warranty of RAV4 EV they just reply with the simple 8 years, 100,000 miles... I asked and what percentage loss is guaranteed.. they couldn't answer me that.. I was wondering if even Tesla has that? Or maybe tesla buyers are so deep pocketed that they don't care, they can switch the battery in the future paying coupe thousands.. but for the mass market that's not the reality.

Best
Daniel

You can buy an extra battery for the Tesla at purchase, which I think is $8,000 to $12,000.

There is no capacity warranty from Toyota.
 
I asked a friend of mine to email that Stevenson link, and after about a dozen emails from three different people over the weekend, which were all forwarded to me to see the responses, the last reply was from a manager who, after asking for that link to try and understand why they were being asked for a Rav4 EV, said (after it was pointed out that it was a choice on their own website) :

Yes.. which is controlled by another part of the company. They have been notified of the web page, and are in the process of handling (removing) the RAV4 EV from our web page.
Again.. thanks for providing the link.

As far as we know.. The RAV4 EV is only being sold in California.


I might add, it looked as if all of their replies were all very nice and courteous.
 
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