Toyota is quietly pushing Congress to slow the shift to electric vehicles
07-26-21, 07:17 PM
#16
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They have a Lexus UX as well as a Toyota CHR. The Toyota is partnered with a Chinese company and made in China. The Lexus made in Japan. Not for the US market of course but I never claimed otherwise. Not nearly as competitive as a Tesla or some other brands but they don’t break, don’t catch on fire, are not recalled and have the same Lexus or Toyota quality one expects. Owners of the Lexus UX have never been told to not park in their garage. Americans would never buy the UX only because the range is too light, but Americans do buy the gas version.
All that said above, Toyota has a new concept BEV as Lexus BEV which will be on sale next year..not a Tesla but it will the natural step up from the RAV4 plug in hybrid or for the Lexus NX.
As for the 2% US EV sales, it’s absolutely true. And would be even less without government subsidies. But, that is not to say the EVs are not the future as they are and Toyota knows this and absolutely said this in the NYTs article. But at the same time, they are saying to the US government, to realize that not everyone will or can afford a new EV in such a short timeline. At some point, someone has to realize that battery electrics cannot fulfill all needs.
I guarantee that Toyota will start charging their tune shortly. They will start talking more and more above battery electrics..about their tech etc etc . With the recent Tesla announcements today about their earnings, and profits in the segment start to become generated, Toyota will want to be part of it (just like every other automaker). Toyota already changed their tune on the operating system for their new models…they just came out last week with interviews about how they needed to change and stop outsourcing the system and build it in house…they knew that years ago…same thing with BEVs, they knew that a long time ago too…but nobody was really making profit until today’s announcement….
All that said above, Toyota has a new concept BEV as Lexus BEV which will be on sale next year..not a Tesla but it will the natural step up from the RAV4 plug in hybrid or for the Lexus NX.
As for the 2% US EV sales, it’s absolutely true. And would be even less without government subsidies. But, that is not to say the EVs are not the future as they are and Toyota knows this and absolutely said this in the NYTs article. But at the same time, they are saying to the US government, to realize that not everyone will or can afford a new EV in such a short timeline. At some point, someone has to realize that battery electrics cannot fulfill all needs.
I guarantee that Toyota will start charging their tune shortly. They will start talking more and more above battery electrics..about their tech etc etc . With the recent Tesla announcements today about their earnings, and profits in the segment start to become generated, Toyota will want to be part of it (just like every other automaker). Toyota already changed their tune on the operating system for their new models…they just came out last week with interviews about how they needed to change and stop outsourcing the system and build it in house…they knew that years ago…same thing with BEVs, they knew that a long time ago too…but nobody was really making profit until today’s announcement….
07-26-21, 07:18 PM
#17
Lexus Fanatic
ah, yes the UX. I forgot about that. Less than 200 miles and that is on highly inflated rating scales. Real world would be closer to like 160-170. That doesn't seem very competitive to me. So Toyota hasn't even developed a dedicated platform yet and will not be able to create anything competitive until they do so. The concept just released from Lexus...well...Ill believe it when I see it.
07-26-21, 07:22 PM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
Toyota is not behind. I would assume a Hybrid is many times more complex to engineer than a giant sized Hot Wheels (im oversimplifying here...). The US is not ready for a full conversion to EVs. The infrastructure is not there and it will take many decades to accomplish. We have those things called Unions and they will slow things down to a crawl. Realistically, where will we get all the materials necessary to create billions of battery cells a yr?
Lots of variables haven’t been figured out….but yeah…force EVs onto everyone in North America
Last edited by Toys4RJill; 07-26-21 at 07:26 PM.
07-26-21, 07:27 PM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
Toyota is not behind. I would assume a Hybrid is many times more complex to engineer than a giant sized Hot Wheels (im oversimplifying here...). The US is not ready for a full conversion to EVs. The infrastructure is not there and it will take many decades to accomplish. We have those things called Unions and they will slow things down to a crawl. Realistically, where will we get all the materials necessary to create billions of battery cells a yr?
Whether or not the US is ready is a separate argument from whether or not Toyota is behind.
07-26-21, 07:30 PM
#20
Lexus Fanatic
How can it be that EVs are being forced on everyone when they account for ~2% of vehicle sales.
07-26-21, 07:33 PM
#21
What's sad about Toyota's neglectful attitude of EV's is that a mere 25 years ago, they were at the forefront of the technology- only to sacrifice it all in favor of hybrids and hydrogen.
I bet the bean counters behind that decision are kicking themselves every night.
I bet the bean counters behind that decision are kicking themselves every night.
07-26-21, 07:41 PM
#23
Lexus Fanatic
Yes hindsight is 20/20 but the investment was so small the risk of failing was nearly zero. This is a shocking lack of insight from Toyota, a company that used to plan decades in advance.
07-26-21, 09:23 PM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
It just seems futile on Toyota's part. What good will slowing down the U.S. do when the rest of the developed world, especially China, are going to mandate EV's as the only acceptable new car that can be sold within the next 10 years? Toyota can't delay the inevitable, especially if they want to remain the best-selling car manufacturer in the world.
07-26-21, 09:34 PM
#26
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07-27-21, 04:25 AM
#27
Come on, be real lol. Look at what EV products and ranges etc competitors are developing and coming out with. How can you say with a straight face that Toyota is not behind?! Other manufacturers are on their second generation of all EV platforms and Toyota has yet to release one at all. Ford has an EV F150 that can power your house and we're supposed to be impressed by a Lexus UX with 170 miles of range you can't even buy here? Get real.
Whether or not the US is ready is a separate argument from whether or not Toyota is behind.
Whether or not the US is ready is a separate argument from whether or not Toyota is behind.
For instance F150 EV starts production next year, it will start becoming available 12 months from now, if no delays.
For traditional manufacturers Toyota is both behind and ahead, with their current hybrid/phev/ev strategy, for most of their markets they are probably ahead due to hybrids that exists, are not PR moves and that they sell > 2,000,000 per year of.
VW is only company that really threw it all into in EVs, most others are tip toing into it similar to Toyota but without hybrid technology to bridge the gap.
07-27-21, 04:48 AM
#28
EV ftw!!!
https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...an-2021-05-10/
07-27-21, 07:54 AM
#29
Lexus Fanatic
07-27-21, 08:09 AM
#30
Lexus Test Driver
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...-china-europe/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/electri...ry-11627032601