Toyota urges to get rid of illusions about the possibility of an early transition to electric vehicles
Some automakers are ready to abandon cars with internal combustion engines by the second half of this decade. Remaining the largest player in the global market, Toyota Motor calls for a sober look at the possibilities of accelerating electric vehicles’ transition. At least in the United States, it has launched a campaign against the accelerated expansion of electric vehicles.
The director of one of the divisions of the North American representative office of Toyota, as noted by Reuters, at a meeting of the relevant committee of the US Senate is going to make some statements warning the country’s authorities against setting too short a timetable for the transition to the use of electric vehicles. There are enough serious obstacles along the way, as a Toyota spokesman explains. This is both the inaccessibility of traction batteries in sufficient quantities, and the lack of developed charging infrastructure, and most importantly, consumer perception and the limited availability of electric vehicles for purchase.
Last year, according to a Toyota spokesman, only 2% of cars sold in the US were electric vehicles. It took the Japanese company twenty years to bring the American hybrid vehicle fleet to four million vehicles. Besides, Toyota has repeatedly noted that electric vehicles in their current form are more expensive to buy and operate than hybrids with internal combustion engines. They are even more harmful to the environment, given the influence of power plants and traction batteries’ production.
Competitors continue to name ambitious goals for the transition to electric vehicles one by one. General Motors will stop selling passenger cars with internal combustion engines by 2035. Volvo will completely switch to electric vehicles by 2030. From 2025, hybrids will form half of the Swedish brand’s sales. Ford will be electrifying its European lineup by 2030, and the Jaguar brand will be fully electric by 2025. By 2030, BMW plans to switch to electric traction only by 50%, and the Mini brand will release the last car with internal combustion engines in 2025. Finally, Volkswagen, Toyota’s closest competitor, will offer 70% of its range of electric vehicles in Europe in 2030, while its share in other markets may approach 50%.
Toyota itself is reluctant to offer pure electric vehicles outside of China, except for the experimental version of the RAV4, which was sold in the United States. Toyota’s first e-TNGA electric crossover for the global market will debut at an event in China in the second half of April. The new platform was created, taking into account the layout features of electric vehicles. It will allow the creation of vehicles with different body types and power drive options.
