Massachusetts-based WiTricity, Toyota's partner, is also working with Honda (which also wants to go to market in 2016), Nissan and BMW. Alex Gruzen, WiTricity's CEO, said in an interview that 2016 is likely to be the year that wireless charging for cars sees widespread adoption.

Owners complain about Tesla-derived parts availability, sporadic servicing, and a big stonewall for out-of-staters.

There have been a number of long-distance electric car events held to counter perceptions about range limitations of EVs. The latest was last week's BC2BC-2013 Rally, in which eight electric cars and one electric motorcycle traveled from British Columbia to Baja, California. All but one successfully arrived, although the journey revealed weaknesses in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

An electric motorcycle won outright in the motorcycle division at the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb race, which should send a wake-up call to the motorsports industry: The electrics are coming.

For some, what will sell electric vehicles is performance, and electric racing events offer the chance to demolish EV stereotypes.

In a new series of web videos released last week, Toyota highlighted the "normal"-ness of the Prius Plug-in by dropping it into the hands of four everyday people who hadn't owned a plug-in before.

Toyota has decided not to offer widespread sales of the electric iQ minicar, and now plans to sell a combined total of just 100 units of the vehicle in the United States and Japan.

The vast majority of the 5,818 sold so far are going to the California, where HOV access and state incentives are attractive. But the car, with up to 15 miles of electric range, also has curb appeal elsewhere.