Toyota President's 2 Harsh Points About Electric Vehicles

Although Toyota will next year introduce its solid-state EV battery, Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, is not thrilled by the electric cars.

If Toyota is recognized for the high quality of its hybrid products, the Japanese company is not badly recognized for its electric products… If it sells two electric models in China, an electric version of the Lexus UX and the Toyota CH-R, here , it does not offer anything.

Could Toyota's probable delay in this matter be due not to the difficulty in developing technologies, but to a lack of interest on the part of the leaders? That's what a recent interview with Toyota president Akio Toyoda might suggest.

During a conference given to a group of automobile manufacturers in Japan, Mr. “Toyota” was reacting to rumors circulating in Japan that the government could ban the sale of new gasoline vehicles there from 2035, as is fashion in the West these days.

According to Mr. Toyoda, electric cars are bad for business, requiring a colossal investment in building them, and ultimately generating more pollution than gasoline-powered cars. The businessman would have gone so far as to lobby the Japanese government so that it does not go ahead with such a law.

Whether the car mogul's frustrations are founded or not, Toyota still seems to be on the path to electrification, saying it is about to unveil an electric vehicle with a revolutionary battery next year.

The battery in question would be a solid-state battery, which would offer better range by volume than the batteries currently used in electric cars, while recharging faster, and emitting less heat.

Anyway, it is surprising that the president of a company on the verge of “revolutionizing” the electric car has so much doubt as to the financial and ecological validity of this type of vehicle. As they say, another great day in the automotive industry.

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, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.