Toyota Motor Corp’s compact electric car due to go on sale in 2012 will have a range of more than 100 km (62 miles) on a full charge and a top speed of about 120 km (75 miles) per hour, the Chunichi newspaper said on Thursday.
Toyota said in early 2009 it would sell a compact electric car in the United States from 2012 based on the FT-EV concept car, which shares vehicle underpinnings with the tiny iQ urban commuter car. It gave few other details on the car.
Its top research and development executive had said then that Toyota would also sell the car in Japan and Europe by 2012.
A spokeswoman said the company could not confirm the report. The FT-EV concept, however, was conceived with a range of more than 90 km and a top speed of over 100 km/hour, she said.
The newspaper did not mention a price or sales target for the car.
Global automakers are accelerating plans to electrify their cars through gasoline-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles to stay competitive as governments around the world tighten emissions and fuel economy standards.
Toyota, the leader in hybrid cars, has increasingly warmed up to battery-run electric cars, announcing a surprise tie-up with EV startup Tesla Motors Inc earlier this year.
Toyota will unveil the RAV4 electric concept fitted with a Tesla electric powertrain at the Los Angeles auto show next week. The car is due to go on sale in the United States also in 2012.
