Toyota’s newly developed high-performance, compact electric vehicle—the eQ —features a new high-output lithium-ion battery that uses a minimum amount of space and boasts improved electric power consumption rate—the world’s best—of 104 Wh/km. Despite its small capacity of 12 kWh, the battery enables a driving range of 100 km8 on a single charge and a top speed of 125 km/h. With an AC 200 V power source, the battery can be fully charged in approximately three hours.
Starting December 2012, Toyota plans to offer the eQ to local governments and selected users in Japan and the U.S. on a limited basis.