Toyota’s lineup over the next 30 years will not be just electric vehicles, Executive VP Shigeki Terashi said at an annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday the 16th of June 2021.
“It’s too early to concentrate on one option,” he said in response to why the world’s biggest carmaker is taking a different electrification route than Honda, which is targeting all-electric sales by 2040.
Terashi said that in the years leading up to 2050, different options including hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles need to compete against each other so that the company is left with the best options.
Differing to GM, Nissan, Honda, VW, Ford etc, Toyota is sticking firmly to non Electric cars it seems.
“In the end what matters is what customers choose” Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda said.
When looking at reducing carbon emissions, Terashi says“we’re choosing to look at the whole lifecycle.” hinting at its reliance on ICE/Hybrid for the environment over EVs.
Is that all correct?
Toyota’s logic behind taking a slower approach to EVs extends beyond just forecasts of consumer demand. They speak of many factors from the environment to customer satisfaction. But it’s all about milking the cow and maintaining its own competitive advantages as we see.
Its not right for a responsible global manufacturer like Toyota to mislead the world.
Lifecycle costs
As Toyota says, the materials needed to make EVs and batteries could account for a larger share of total emissions than those from tailpipes. This has been nullified many a time, proving the overall environmental costs of ICE are much higher than the EVs, throughout its lifetime. It is clear the consideration of fuel in an analysis by T&E on lifecycle environmental costs, but not the lubricating oils.
Production costs
The Japanese automaker says it will work to streamline its production processes to lower the cost of producing EVs and other vehicles in tandem.
However, T&E assigned recent study of Bloomsburg NE finds this differently (study of May 2021)
Electric cars could be as cheap to buy as petrols and diesels within five years if the right decisions are taken now. That’s the conclusion from a new study commissioned by T&E that looks at the upfront costs of battery-electric cars and how fast they can reach 100% sales across all European countries.
But it warns that failure to make the right decisions now could mean fossil fuel cars will still be sold in 2035.
Management and Sales costs
Toyota loses here in a big way as the direct sales of EV-only manufacturers like Tesla slashed about a quarter of the costs with costly showroom maintenance, dealer margins, etc. Not only, the vertical integration technics and the simplification of the technology further reduces the end customer costs.
Technology
Toyota mastered the ICE better than any other. They know how to make complex systems like hybrid and hydrogen well. On the contrary, EVs are easy to make. A bug-free software, lasting battery, motor, and the inverter does it all, the rest are just the basics.
So any can compete with Toyota s tech in the EV business easily, many are already ahead….and Toyota knows that. So they will keep milking the cow at the cost of the environment. But the future will not be rosy for them as they think, catching up will not be easy.
Hoodwinking strategy?
Hydrogen and even the recent EV push can be just hoodwinking strategies/delay tactics. Toyota learned through the mill, they are too smart for their own benefits, at the cost of society.
Toyota further states that they cater to the customer demand as long as it stays, which is again questionable. We all are responsible and liable to the environment. True that there are deniers of climate change, but the statements of Toyota should be factful, not merely on their own business benefits.
In fact, Toyota should take the lead, towards a better society. If they do not believe the climate change, then they should substantiate it with facts, instead of making vague statements.
It is pathetic to spread misinformation about Battery Electric Vehicles to protect one’s business.
Update: 24.09.2021
