The highly anticipated 2012 pure electric Toyota RAV4 that will be sold in the U.S. will be built in Ontario, Canada.

Ray Tanguay, Toyota’s North American senior VP, made the statement about the location of the RAV4 EV production facility at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing. According to Tanguay, the Woodstcok, Ontario plant, which currently builds all RAV4s that are sold in the U.S., is perfectly equipped to build the fully electric versions too.

Tanguay also explained that the precise release date of the RAV4 EV is still being debated, Toyota is definitely committed seeing it retail in 2012.

The partnership between Toyota and Tesla Motors seems to be getting even cozier as Tesla has revealed that its original deal with Toyota is getting a $100 million injection.

The Toyota-Tesla agreement will see Tesla producing an electric power train system for Toyota’s upcoming 2012 RAV4 EV, which, contrary to a rumor from earlier this week, will be made available to the public.

While this $100 million is simply just an extension of the deal the two motor companies inked back in 2010, it is a significant amount and could directly aid in the development and production of the hotly anticipate Tesla Model S electric sedan.

[Edit] - As stated in the comment section below by it seems that this bad news about the RAV4 EV is incorrect. We have verified this to be true and look forward to an electric RAV4 being made available to the general public next year.

While there are definitely more options out there than a few years ago for eco-friendly cars like hybrids and electric vehicles, there is still a lot of space for more options. Particularly in the world of pure electric cars, Toyota has become like a sleeping giant. As it makes money hand-over-fist with its uber popular Toyota Prius, EV fans eagerly await their efforts on the pure electric car front.

It seemed like the waiting had come to an end with the recent announcement that the partnership between Toyota and Tesla would produce a RAV4 EV next year. Sadly, while that is true, the 2012 RAV4 EV won’t be made available to the general public. It’s only being sold to operators of fleets and car sharing programs.

The first generation of Toyota RAV4 EV is still fondly remembered from its debut and abrupt cancellation some 15 years ago; a subject which is examined in the popular documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?

Tesla Motors and auto giants Toyota have announced that the two car companies will be putting their heads together to build a shiny new electric RAV4 that will be powered by Tesla technology. The hopes are that the electric RAV4 will be on US shores by 2012. Until then, Tesla will design a line of RAV4 prototypes for evaluation before the end of 2010. The first RAV4 EV prototype has already been built and is already being tested.

Actor Tom Hanks wrote a letter to the New Yorker setting the record straight about an article published in the paper that claimed he at one time owned the all-electric EV1 from General Motors. However, Hanks says this is not true.

Hanks writes, “By the time I began shopping for an all-electric car, in 2003, the EV1 had already been yanked from showrooms as if the car had never existed. Instead, I found what was purported to be the very last electric car available for sale in the state of California—a Toyota EV. It had four doors, a rear hatch, room for my family, including a dog in the back, power windows, A/C, a great sound system, and the fastest, most effective windshield defroster known to mankind. When the car companies collectively, and, to some, diabolically, decided to take these cars back, the electric vehicles disappeared. But not mine. I have the pink slip. I own that car, and it is still driven every day, albeit by one of my crack staff of employees. My electric car recently crossed fifty thousand miles on the odometer with its original battery but without so much as a splash of gasoline.”

Plug In America, an organization that promotes the use of electric vehicles, held an electric car parade today to celebrate President Obama’s inauguration speech.

Over 70 electric vehicles came together for the celebratory parade in promotion of a plug-in vehicle focus for the Obama administration. The message of the parade was actually quite specific in that they are calling to see one million electric vehicles in Ameerica by 2010 and 10 million by 2016.

The two-mile parade ran through downtown Santa Monica and included 40 Toyota RAV4 Evs, four Tesla Roadsters, an all electric 50-ton truck and a PHEV school bus.