Toyota is having a Kodak moment, output drops, and finally is getting a new electric SUV from Suzuki.
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Toyota is Japan’s largest automaker and it is struggling as low-priced Chinese EV makers, like BYD, continue gaining an edge. Toyota’s global output fell for the first time in four years in the first half of 2024. Its worldwide output also dropped for 8th straight month in September. Now my question: is the company’s slow shift to EVs to blame?
I read a comment on Facebook in which Mike McKeown compares Toyota with Kodak. Remember Kodak and film? Kodak spent years arguing film (like the legacy) was better than digital photography (the new EV market). And while it was the case at the start, digital soon caught up and eventually overtook film. The market transition killed Kodak because they were the incumbent, resistant to change laggard. "The ICE to EV transition with Toyota is shaping up the same way," writes McKeown.
I hope Toyota doesn't say "No one saw this coming." The company most vehemently opposed EVs and insisted that hybrids and hydrogen cars are the future.
On a brighter note, Toyota and Suzuki are joining forces to build electric cars. Suzuki will make an all-electric SUV for Toyota starting in 2025. This new electric car will be made in India and sold around the world. It will be Toyota's first fully electric SUV. This partnership is a big step for both companies as they work to compete with other carmakers who are also making electric vehicles.
Follow me on Telegram for more EV news and also don't miss my previous article about Toyota at Torque News, titled "I Am Reluctant To Give Up My 2004 Toyota RAV4 With 200,000 Miles, But I Have Two Complaints."
Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Youtube. He has more than a decade of expertise in the automotive industry with a special interest in Tesla and electric vehicles.
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The article claims that…
The article claims that Toyota/Suzuki joint venture in India will be Toyota's first full electric SUV.
What about their JV with Subaru, i.e. theToyota bZ4X / Subaru Solterra ?
This seems to be rather a glaring oversight in the background research for this article.
What does the US market…
What does the US market require for consumer EV vehicle sales to dominate ICE and Hybrid -(Plug-in) in the near and mid-term?
Is it an expanded, reliable, and hardened Electrical Grid?
Is it Roads, Bridges, Parking Structures, and a vehicle infrastructure that can handle heavier vehicles (current EVs are substantially heavier than equivalent ICE).
Is it that current Lithium based EV batteries are not a long-term solution for cheaper, safer, economical and even environmentally optimal EV stored energy source.
Is it that urban apartment/condo dwellers do not "yet" have access to convenient and reliable EV charging stations?
Maybe Toyota is focusing on what they do better than any other vehicle mfg on the planet (ICE, Hybrid, Plug-ins) and they are "PRIMED" for greater EV vehicle sales what the above questions are answered?
Hmmmmm....
I still own Leica cameras…
I still own Leica cameras using Kodak film. I have to work with digital so I am no stranger. What I don't like in my optional vehicles lifestyle is Toyota taking away my Tundra V8, my 4Runner V6, and of course it's brother the old FJ V6. I have owned a Prius V and 10 years later a Corolla Hybrid, I've tried em, but they are not for me, neither is a turbo. But the tundra V8 and 4Runner V6 are like the legendary mechanical Leica cameras. All 3 Will last decades more. Haven't bought a new Leica camera in 30 years, and with my new 2024 4Runner and my 2021 Tundra V8; looks like Toyota has gotten its last new car dollar from me. No car maker or govt edict can force me to drive a vehicle I want no part of.
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