With the electric cars becoming more popular and more car companies investing in creating their own models, it comes as a surprise that Toyota is not following the trend.
The Japanese car company has shown reluctance on the matter. When asked about why Toyota doesn’t want to participate in the trend, Akio Toyoda, the President of Toyota stated that it could hurt the environment, “The more EVs we build, the worse carbon dioxide gets.”
Let’s break down his skepticism
The Cost of Electric Cars
The first segment of Toyota’s critique encompasses cost of production. Toyota is a mass-producing automotive company that prides themselves on providing affordable and reliable vehicles efficiently and quickly. With this in mind, you can see how it could be a problem to change their current cost-effective manufacturing into a costly EV production line.
According to the Mr. Toyoda’s expertise, the current cost of production for electric cars is too expensive for achieving mass-market potential. To put it in perspective, you have to consider that the lowest-priced Tesla goes for $38,000 without subsidies.
Toyota’s views on the electric car mandates by 2030 and 2040 are also polarizing. They believe that making it mandatory to invest in electric cars will force them to spend money they don’t have. This will put people in a financially compromised position.
Overall, for electric vehicles to be viable for mass adoption, they need to be priced for the average person to afford. Despite all the technological advancements in the EV industry, there are no signs of a breakthrough that makes electric cars affordable for everybody.
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Eco-Friendly Dilemma of Electric Car
The primary narrative behind the electric vehicle boost is a hope for a greener and carbon-neutral environment. This brings us to Toyota’s second critique of electric vehicle production. The President of the company predicts that the worldwide adoption of electric vehicles is currently not possible because of the insufficiency of the electrical infrastructure and its limitations to meet the masses’ demands.
A vast majority of the electricity today is a result of fossil fuel combustion. A widespread increase in electric vehicles will, therefore, eradicate the struggle towards a carbon-neutral environment. Instead, it may even increase carbon emissions unless the world does not aggressively convert to renewable energy generation.
While Toyota doesn’t want to create their own electric car, they are a leader in hybrid vehicles such as the Prius. Hybrid vehicles have both a gasoline engine and electric motor. The benefits of hybrids is that they use less fuel and produce less carbon dioxide.
Conclusion
Toyota car company is doing what they feel is best for their business, and in their opinion, the environment. It is unlikely that they will join the electric vehicle industry but you can still expect them keep the Prius on the market in order to do their part in helping the environment.