Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. plans to continue to make fuel-efficient vehicles a key component of its product lineup, refusing to make the transition to all-electric vehicles like other competitors because the company is concerned that consumer acceptance of the new technology may take longer than expected.
In an interview Thursday local time, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, will launch more electric models in the coming years, but it will also offer a range of other options, including hybrid models, hydrogen-powered models and traditional fossil fuel-driven models.
Akio Toyoda told dealers gathered in Las Vegas that battery-powered electric vehicles “may take longer to catch on than expected. He promised to offer the “widest possible” choice of powertrains. “That’s our strategy, and we’re going to stick to it,” he said.
Toyota’s attitude reflects the many considerations facing automakers, and these choices are sometimes contradictory. Automakers are seeking to boost sales, serve a diverse customer base and meet increasingly stringent environmental standards in many countries. Toyota’s choice contrasts with the decisions of rivals such as General Motors Co. which has pledged to push only electric models by 2035.
Environmentalists and shareholders have criticized Toyota for dragging its feet in its drive to electrify cars, with Greenpeace placing the brand last in its ranking of global automakers’ decarbonization efforts. Some critics blamed Toyota for the launch of the Prius, a 25-year-old hybrid that won Toyota acclaim.
Katherine Garcia, head of the U.S. environmental group Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation Campaign, recently posted: “The truth is that today’s hybrids are not environmentally friendly technology, and the Prius hybrid still uses an internal combustion engine that emits pollution.”
Toyota pledged last year to invest 4 trillion yen ($27.7 billion) in 30 electric vehicles by 2030. However, that is still lower than Ford Motor Co. which plans to invest $50 billion by 2026 for the production of electric vehicles.
Despite the apparent gap, Akio Toyoda said his company has been investing in battery-powered hybrids for more than 20 years. This, he believes, makes Toyota a “frontrunner” in reducing global automotive carbon emissions.
“Our investment may seem less than other companies, but when you look at what Toyota has done in the last 20 years, it’s not a lot of total investment,” said Akio Toyoda.
The Toyota helmsman said the lack of adequate infrastructure will inhibit the rate of adoption of electric vehicles, a major deciding factor in Toyota’s decision not to go all in on the transition to electric vehicles. “Toyota is a department store for all kinds of powertrains,” he said.
Akio Toyoda expressed skepticism that the automaker could meet the goals set by California. California previously announced it would effectively ban fuel vehicles by 2035 and require a significant increase in the percentage of electric vehicle sales. New York state said Thursday that it will set similar regulations.
According to Akio Toyoda, “We have to consider the current selling price of electric cars and the availability of infrastructure, as well as the rate at which they will be upgraded. Realistically speaking, that goal seems difficult to achieve.”
