2009 RAV4 Limited electric vehicle

2009 RAV4 Limited Electric Vehicle Peak Oil Garage

We have started a new project at The Green Car Company. We are not yet taking orders, but this is a project that will likely move forward in the next 90 days. I am posting this to solicit your feedback.

We are converting six new 2009 RAV4 Limited SUVs to be pure electric vehicles.

Our company is the Hymotion installer for the Pacific Northwest. We have converted over 150 Prius hybrids to the Hymotion plug-in system.

In addition, our expert technicians have converted four used RAV4 SUVs to be pure electric vehicles. We are using lithium-ion battery packs (34.5 kwh) which will provide 100+ miles of electric range. The converted RAV4 is also highway capable with a top speed of 90 mph. Range will vary depending on driving style and terrain. Most people will experience 100 to 130 miles of range.

These vehicles will be eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit for plug-in vehicles. It will also qualify for any state sales tax or income tax credits that your state may have. For example, in the state of Washington it would have no sales tax at all. In Oregon it would receive a $5,000 state income tax credit. With federal and state tax savings, the buyers would receive $10,000 to $12,000 in tax savings (sales tax and income tax).

We estimate that the cost will be approximately $50,000 to $55,000 before the tax credits.
We can ship this vehicle anywhere in the USA for $1,500.

Let me know what you think.



(This is not a converted 2009 RAV4 Limited. This is a one we put an EV decal on for a visual)

 

We chose the Limited edition of the RAV4 so that we could get a full luxury vehicle with leather interior and all of the latest technology that owners at this price point want. Of course we could save a few thousand dollars by going with a more basic RAV4.

We are doing this with six RAV4 SUVs at the same time. Our expenses for doing the conversions drop approximately 20% by doing six at the same time as opposed to one at a time.

So if the cost is around $55,000 then you subtract $12,000 in tax savings, the real cost to the owner is around $43,000.

Once we get a few potential customers to place a $1,000 deposit on these conversions, we will move forward with the process.

 

We are doing all of the paperwork with the DOT and CARB. It is actually not that complex to get them to qualify. These are going to be new cars sold via a dealer.

 

We sell the ICE components to offset part of the expenses. There is a good market for these parts.

 

The Hymotion battery is only 5 kwh. So it does not qualify for the full (16 kwh) $7,500 tax credit. It only qualifies for $2,944.

We do sell the 2009 Toyota Prius with a Hymotion battery installed. It can be shipped anywhere in the USA for $1,500 or less.

2009 Plug In Prius Hybrid!

We do a dealer to dealer transfer from Toyota, so it is never titled. Then we install the Hymotion battery and offer it as a new vehicle. So it does qualify.

The minimum for the federal tax credit is 4 kwh for $2,500 in tax credits. Then each additional 1 kwh increases the tax credit by $444. So the actual tax credit for a new 2009 Hymotion Prius is approximately $2944.

In addition, certain states offer tax savings. In the state of Washington this vehicle has no sales tax which saves about $3,000. In the state of Oregon there is a $5,000 state income tax credit. Every state is different.

 

It is likely too heavy for the Toyota Prius. It would alter the weight of the vehicle too much. That is why the Toyota RAV4 is perfect for this type of conversion. There is plenty of space to hold the battery pack and handle the weight. You don't even see it. You still have the full rear area for normal use. Removing the gas engine removes a lot of weight. Then adding the battery and electric motors brings it back. The finished vehicle is a little heavier, but not much more so. I will be posting the exact data on my blog and in our final spec sheet when we move forward.

 

Many things are possible on different vehicles. But we obtain our best cost efficiencies by doing six vehicles at a time and when they are all the same model. Solving all of the issues for a conversion takes time. Every brand of car/SUV is different. So the first EV conversion of a specific model can take a lot of time.

We have done four used RAV4 SUV conversions to pure electric. Our techs understand that vehicle and how to do it quickly now. This helps keep labor costs low. We know exactly which parts we need to order, we know the exact batteries to order. It is an easy process now that is quick and efficient. This can easily lower the costs by 20%.

On a custom conversion of a vehicle model that we have never worked with, the costs rise siginficantly mostly because of the time involved with resolving all of the issues.