Next year, Toyota will be launching a trio of plug-in vehicles - the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the 2012 Toyota RAV4EV and the 2012 Scion IQ.
To coincide with that launch, Toyota has announced it will be selling a branded electric-car charging station, made by electronics manufacturing firm Leviton.
The unit is likely to be based upon Leviton’s existing Level 2 charging stations, which can be either permanently installed by a professional electrician, or simply plugged into an existing NEMA 240V, 20 Amp power socket.
This isn’t the first time Leviton has been chosen as an official charging station partner for an automaker either. Back in January, Ford announced that the firm would be supplying it with Ford branded charging stations to accompany the launch of its 2012 Ford Focus Electric.
Toyota hasn’t announced any pricing for the branded Leviton chargers. But given that Leviton’s own commercially-available charging station retails for $1,049, we think you shouldn’t expect much change from $1,500 installed.
Whether the Toyota Prius Plug-In needs a 240-Volt charging station is a different question, however. The 5-kilowatt-hour battery pack can be fully recharged in just 3 hours when plugged into 120-Volt wall current, so the extra 90 minutes gained by using a Level 2 station may not matter to many owners.
[Leviton, Toyota]
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