The Unexpected Reason Behind Toyota's Stall in Developing EVs
Recently news had come out that GM and the American market had sold more cars than Toyota last year. Now experts say that most of those sales are due to the rapid production and development of U.S domestic EVs. So far, Toyota only has one mass produced EV. The 2023 Toyota bZ4X has had very mixed reviews. Critics have said there are better EV SUVs out there for a lower price.
Personally, I think that the bZ4X was a complete waste of Toyota’s resources and that they should’ve done what most U.S companies did in the 80’s which was pair up with other manufacturers and essentially rebrand their mini trucks. In fact, Toyota was one of those “older sisters” in that helped American auto makers develop their own mini truck. While automakers like Ford and GM are actively pursuing reliable and efficient EV’s, Toyota and Honda seem to be pretty reluctant. For the sake of purpose, we will only focus on Toyota’s reason and theory.
However recently, an article by Jalopnik’s Collin Woodard explained the real reason why Toyota is so reluctant to switch over to EV development. Granted, Toyota recently patented 6 new EV models and their plan to go Beyond Zero seems to be a legit claim. Of course, they also stated that their plan to go full hybrid and plug-in hybrid within the next several years. So far their main reason is because electric vehicles do not work well in the cold weather. Let’s say they stopped selling the Toyota Hilux as a gas car and switched it to EV. How do you think the Siberian farmer would feel after his brand new EV Hilux wont start or drains the battery after 20 miles?
We saw this happen a lot with a famous car youtuber having to sell his brand new Ford F-150 Lightning because his battery kept draining. This is why Toyota wants to really focus on bio fuels like Porsche or HEV, PHEV platforms.
According to the article, ‘Toyota president Akio Toyoda doesn’t like EVs. And even if you thought you knew how anti-EV Toyoda is, seeing paragraph after paragraph explaining it in detail still drives home the point. Hard.” Akio Toyoda inherited the family company after his father passed it onto him. While Mr. Toyoda doesn’t like EVs, He does like hybrids and plug in hybrids due to Toyota’s trusted and battle tested
I personally think Mr. Toyoda is right but it will take way more automakers, whether American or European, to come together and really stand against the EV scene to back the consumer mind.
What do you think? What is your stance of Japanese EV development? Let us know in the comments below.
Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun and on YouTube at Toyota Time for daily Toyota news.