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Days after Toyota boss Akio Toyoda showed his displeasure over electric vehicles (EVs), the Japanese automaker has introduced a tiny EV called C+pod.
The ultra compact EV that can seat only two people packs a 9kWh battery, that’s good for a drive range of up to 150 km and attains a top speed of up to 60 km/h.
Exterior of Toyota C+pod
According Toyota, it will sell C+pod in 2021 to “corporate users, local governments and other organizations that have been exploring new options to drive the popularization of BEVs”. The full-scale launch to individual customers is scheduled for 2022.
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The production of the C+pod EV will take place at Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Japan. Available in two versions, the Toyota C+pod is priced a little on the higher side at 1,650,000 yen (PKR 25.39 lac) for X grade, and 1,716,000 yen (PKR 26.40 lac) for G grade considering for a small EV of this size.
Interior of Toyota C+pod
Toyota which is best known for producing a array of reliable & trusted passenger, commercial & off-road internal combustion engine vehicles & a considered as a pioneer in developing mass produced hybrid cars is late towards adapting to battery electric vehicles, whereas Chinese, South Korean, European and American automakers already have a good number of EVs in their lineup.
Related: Toyota Chief Not Happy with EV Revolution
And with world putting a ban on sales of internal combustion vehicles within the next 10-15 years, Toyota needs to catch up on the EV bandwagon before it gets too late. The C+pod might just be a beginning for Toyota with more EVs expected to be introduced down the line.
Toyota C+pod specs:
- Range: 150 km (WLTC Class 1 test cycle – does not include highway driving)
- Battery: 9.06 kWh
- Top speed: 60 km/h
- Rear Wheel Drive
- Output of 9.2 kW (2.6 kW continuous), 56 Nm of torque (permanent magnet electric motor)
- AC charging: 5 hours at 200 V/16 A charging point
- Dimensions: Length x Width x Height (mm): 2,490 x 1,290 x 1,550
- Wheelbase (mm): 1,780
- Curb weight: 670-690 kg
- Seating Capacity: 2
