Business

Toyota Unveils Electric SUV

Published

14 years ago

May 8, 2012

Toyota unveiled its new electric Rav4 crossover SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) at an event in Los Angeles Monday but said it will be available only in four California cities for the time being, the CNN reports.

Toyota plans to sell only 2,600 of them over the next three years, the automaker said.

They will cost $49,800 each, Toyota said, but will be richly equipped with features like heated seats and an eight inch touch-sensitive computer screen. The price does not factor in a $7,500 federal tax credit for purchasing a plug-in vehicle. It also doesn’t include a $2,500 state tax credit.

The Rav4 EV will have a driving range of approximately 100 miles, Toyota said, with an expected 6 hour charge time on a 240 volt charger.

“It’s designed for consumers who prioritize the environment and appreciate performance. We look forward to seeing how the market responds,” said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Motors Sales U.S.A.’s Toyota division.

The most expensive gasoline-powered Toyota Rav4 has a base price of less than $29,000. Toyota sold over 15,000 gasoline-powered Rav4 SUVs last month, or almost six times the number of Rav4 EVs it plans to sell over the next three years.

The Rav4 EV will help Toyota meet electric vehicle requirements in the State of California. Automakers have to sell a certain number of “zero emission” vehicles in order to be allowed to continue selling vehicles in the state.

The vehicles will be built by Toyota but the batteries and electric drive systems will be supplied by the California-based electric car maker Tesla Motors

Toyota’s plans for the Rav4 EV were revealed in the summer of 2010, shortly after it was announced that Toyota would invest $50 million in Tesla Motors and that Tesla would build its next vehicles in a former Toyota factory in California.

The front-wheel-drive Rav4 EV will have two different drive modes. In its normal mode, the SUV will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in as little as 8.6 seconds and will have a top speed of 85 miles per hour, according to Toyota. In “Sport” mode it will be able to get to 60 mph in 7 seconds and will have a top speed of 100 mph.

Toyota has long been cautious in its approach to purely electric vehicles in the belief that the market for such vehicles is limited because of their high cost and limited driving ranges. The Japanese automaker has been much more aggressive in pursuing gasoline-electric hybrid technology.

Toyota recently began selling a new Prius plug-in car but that vehicle can travel only about 11 miles before it begins burning gasoline. Toyota also plans to market a purely electric car called the Scion iQ EV which will have a range of less than 50 miles. That car won’t be sold directly to the public, however, but will be used in car-sharing programs in big cities.

Toyota joins a growing list of automakers selling at least some plug-in vehicles.

Today, the largest-selling plug-in cars are the Nissan Leaf and General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt, a so-called extended range plug-in car. Even those vehicles, however, sell in small numbers. GM sold just under 2,300 Volts in March, which was that vehicle’s best sales month ever.

Business

PENGASSAN Tasks Multinationals On Workers’ Salary Increase

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked companies in the oil and gas sector to undertake urgent review of salaries of their workers in view of the prevailing harsh economic conditions in the country.

Also, the pensioners of Chevron Nigeria, under the aegis PenCoN, have lauded the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo and his executive on their unrelenting efforts toward addressing pension abnormalities faced by retired workers in the oil and gas industry.

The association also appealed to the federal government to take necessary measures to check banditry and terrorist activities in parts of the country.

PENGASSAN President, Osifo who addressed journalists shortly after the National Executive Council meeting of the association in Abuja, at the weekend, said that though a lot of success has been recorded in negotiating salary reviews for its members, there are still organisations that have failed to lift their workers from the present harsh economic situation.

He said within this period, PENGASSAN has signed numerous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) which has brought smiles to the faces of its teeming members.

“This is because we recognise that our job, literally, is how to protect the job of our members, and how to enhance their pay,” he said.

Osifo said that operators in the oil and gas sectors always go for the best qualified professionals to carry out their operations.

“So, the same way they recruit the best, we also challenge them to provide the best condition of service and provide the best remuneration.

“Yes, today, a lot of companies will have achieved successes, but there are still few that we are still discussing at their CBAs, that we are not yet there.

“We still use this opportunity to call on these companies that are still foot dragging, that are still holding back, even with the massive devaluation that has occurred in our country, that still don’t want to fix the remuneration of our members.

“We are calling on them to do the needful, because for us in PENGASSAN we will push without holding back. We will push, using everything in our arsenal, to ensure that the needful is done,” he said.

Osifo spoke of the dispute with the Dangote Refinery group, saying there are still pending issues to be resolved.

“Gentlemen of the press, during the networking session, we also looked at the issues that are plaguing some of our branches, and you know that recently, we had some challenges in Dangote Refinery and PetroChemicals Ltd.

“And within this period, since our last National Industrial Action, we have been engaging them in a lot of conversations, but the issues are not fully resolved. There are still a lot of pending issues.

“Yes, the NEC decided that, yes, let us still consummate that process by pushing those issues, by engaging in dialogue to resolve the issues, and by also engaging all our social partners and stakeholders to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Business

SEC Unveils Digital Regulatory Hub To Boost Oversight Across Financial Markets

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched the Regulatory Hub, a new centralized digital platform designed to streamline collaboration, strengthen oversight, and improve transparency across Nigeria’s financial and capital market ecosystem.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.

According to the commission, the platform connects key regulatory and security institutions including the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), enabling them to exchange information securely and in real time.

The launch of this regulatory hub comes ahead of the implementation of new tax laws in January 2026, with agencies such as the FIRS spreading its tentacles across sector to monitor compliance.

According to the SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, the launch marks a significant step toward modernizing Nigeria’s regulatory framework through technology.

“The Regulatory Hub is a major step in our commitment to leverage technology for stronger regulatory synergy. By connecting regulators on one platform, we are building resilience, enhancing market integrity, and promoting investor confidence,” he said.

The SEC said the platform would help reduce bottlenecks in regulatory processes and facilitate faster, more informed decision-making across agencies.

Reinforcing the DG’s comments, the Executive Commissioner, Operations, Bola Ajomale, highlighted the operational benefits of the new system.

“The platform will significantly improve the timeliness and quality of regulatory decision-making. It provides a single window for regulators to share data, respond to requests, and collaborate seamlessly in safeguarding our financial and capital markets,” he said.

The commission believes the Regulatory Hub would support its broader mandate to strengthen investor protection, enhance market stability, and harmonize regulatory activities across the financial sector.

It urged stakeholders to initiate interest by emailing the Commission, adding that once registered, participants would be able to access the Hub and take advantage of its features.

Business

NAFDAC Decries Circulation Of Prohibited Food Items In markets …….Orders Vendors’ Immediate Cessation Of Dealings With Products

Published

3 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

The Tide

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing circulation of banned food products across markets in the country.

The agency, in a Press Release dated 6 December 2025, warned that these items including pasta, noodles, sugar and tomato paste are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are illegal to import.

NAFDAC stated that the sale and distribution of such prohibited items violate national trade laws, compromise the integrity of Nigeria’s food control system, and pose significant public health risks, as they have not undergone the agency’s mandatory safety and quality evaluations.

Importers, market traders, and supermarket operators have therefore, been directed to immediately cease all dealings in these items and to notify their supply chain partners to halt transactions involving prohibited products.

The agency emphasized that failure to comply will attract strict enforcement measures, including seizure and destruction of goods, suspension or revocation of operational licences, and prosecution under relevant laws.

The statement said “The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of smuggling, sale, and distribution of regulated food products such as pasta, noodles, sugar, and tomato paste currently found in markets across the country.

“These products are expressly listed on the Federal Government’s Customs Prohibition List and are not permitted for importation”.

NAFDAC also called on other government bodies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigeria Shippers Council, and the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), to collaborate in enforcing the ban on these unsafe products.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu