According to a report by autocar.co.uk, the car will be aimed at different market segments compared to the iQ and will become the first all-electric car in Toyota's product range. The charging time for the battery pack to power the car will be approximately 8 hours, the aforementioned source wrote, but it's still unclear what type of batteries the manufacturer plans to bring on the car.
"We wanted to position the iQ as premium, but not so the BEV," iQ’s chief engineer, Hiroki Nakajima, was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source. "In every wheel we had to be able to fit an electric motor. Our target is for customers to be able to charge it completely during the night."
Until the company rolls out the electric flavor of the iQ, Toyota will also debut a revised version of the standard model, Nakajima revealed. "The iQ will get a much better interior," he said. "A lot of buyers think it is much too plasticky."
Toyota iQ first saw daylight in 2007 at the Frankfurt Auto Show, with the production version unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show. The FT-EV battery electric concept vehicle, which is expected to arrive sometime in 2012, was launched at the 2009 North American International Auto Show.
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