Everything is moving towards electric cars. A path that is sought in the best way with the sole intention of obtaining emissions neutrality, and which is currently being deepened in different segments. In any case, and despite the fact that most of the brands are already moving in this direction, there are firms that do not want this type of technology. And one is, neither more nor less, than Toyota .
Toyota does not want the imposition of the electric car
Electric cars are the future, or at least that’s what politicians want. However, some of the major car companies are beginning to oppose this transition that is taking place, “too fast”.
This is where some manufacturers are beginning to openly doubt not so much about the electric car per se , but about the imposition of one technology over another. No manufacturer closes the band to the electric car, not even Toyota or Mazda, the two most critical voices with the electric car, but almost all manufacturers play both sides.
On the one hand, they develop and put on sale more and more new battery electric models. Thus, whether with more or less success, almost everyone has an electrical proposal or a whole range. And on the other, they invest in another technology, be it hydrogen or e-fuel .
They believe that the best is the combination of technologies
And here, precisely, we are talking about brands like Toyota. Thus, the Japanese has spoken out from the outset very much against electric cars . The Japanese manufacturer considers that they are not yet the best mobility option for the future. While the rest of the competitors have moved to this technology, the Japanese brand has always focused on hybrids, giving the appearance of being left behind.
Now, Toyota is starting to move down this path with the development of its first platform for electric vehicles. Yet it still hasn’t made the leap to an all-electric range, now using science to tell EV extremists wrong.
Thus, who is the chief scientist of the Japanese manufacturer, affirms that the best strategy for a sustainable future is the combination of electric vehicles , hybrids and other ecological technologies, and not bet everything on the battery electric car.
It’s more; The Japanese government has announced its goal of having 200,000 fuel cell vehicles on the road in 2025 , and 800,000 in 2030. Data from Toyota speak of some 160 hydrogen service stations in Japan, and raise them to 320 in 2025 and up to 900 for the 2030 horizon.
Mazda or BMW also add to this opinion
In this way, the firm resumes its multi-technology strategy that allows it to discard paths and opt for those most in demand by buyers.
Thus, even during the recent Tokyo Motor Show they came to present a hybridization kit for gasoline cars, a partial solution that would make it possible to continue using the old fuel cars while reducing their polluting emissions.
Anyway, a subsection; Because the truth is that Toyota does not completely reject the electric car, but rather considers that a more diversified approach should be taken. In addition, it predicts a global shortage of lithium , which is the most important material used in current lithium-ion batteries of 100% pure electrics, hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
It’s more; The Japanese brand does have an electric car on the market, but it has not given the expected results, which also makes this thought even more powerful. This is the case of the Toyota BZ4x , its first electric model, of which only 1,200 units have been sold in the world. Models like the Toyota Mirai, which is committed to hydrogen and fuel cells, have only sold 2,000 units.
In his case, and following this opinion, there are brands such as Mazda or BMW, which say that the combustion car should not be abandoned. And they say it very clearly: “if you are not going to sell combustion engines, someone else will”, as Olivier Zipse, from the German manufacturer, said. “Only with the six-cylinder engine are we reducing CO2 emissions more than ever with a generation change,” he stresses.