Tesla and Mercedes lead climate change ranking as Toyota actively sabotages EV transition
Toyota's popular Prius Prime hybrid recently beat Teslas for the greenest car title in a study that takes into account emissions from the full life cycle of the vehicle.
Toyota itself, however, along with other Japanese automakers, sits at the bottom of the ranking when it comes to climate friendly policies, according to a new analysis of 15 major car companies.
According to the "Automakers and Climate Policy Advocacy" study, Japanese brands like Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, or Mazda, are going to have the lowest share of EVs in their respective model rosters in 2030.
Not only that, but they are actively lobbying against stricter emissions policies that would result in a faster transition to the EV era, too.
The juggernaut Toyota seems to be the worst offender in that regard. "Toyota is the lowest-scoring company in this analysis, driving opposition to climate regulations promoting battery electric vehicles in multiple regions, including the US, Australia and UK," finds the study.
Toyota, however, recently gloated that it feels vindicated for its more careful approach to the decarbonization efforts in the transportation sector. It has long advocated for a more varied mix of vehicles depending on the region and customer preferences.
Neither the infrastructure in developing countries, argues Toyota, nor the buyer's pocketbook are currently ready for the breakneck pace of EV adoption and global subsidies that climate policy makers advocate for.
On the other end of the green transition spectrum are Tesla, Mercedes, and BMW, which are the only major automakers that are projected to meet the International Energy Agency’s new 1.5°C warming roadmap to have at least 66% EV or hybrid sales by 2030.
Tesla, in particular, is the sole car company that hasn't advocated against any emissions restriction policy, for obvious reasons. "Of all automakers analyzed, only Tesla (scoring B) is found to have positive climate advocacy aligned with science-based policy," the analysis keeps praising.
The global slowdown in electric vehicle sales pegs the market at a differing opinion, though, as Tesla's growth rate is way down, while Toyota's hybrid sales are booming, and it just logged a quarterly profit record of more than $30 billion.
Toyota, however, forecasts a 28% drop in annual profit this year precisely on account of major planned investments in "growth areas" like new EV models, so its 2030 electrification story is yet to be written.
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