Toyota gloats it was right about electric car demand as it predicts 70% hybrids or ICE vehicle mix
The CEO of Toyota is making a sort of an EV market success victory lap, predicting that electric cars won't be able to pierce the 30% market share threshold, despite all the "regulatory efforts or political power" acting in their favor. The other 70%, says Akio Toyoda, will be Toyota's favorite hybrids, as well as hydrogen fuel cell or gas-powered vehicles.
His reasoning is that about one billion people across the globe don't have access to electricity so offering them only the option of pricey electric cars won't solve their mobility problems. "In the case of Toyota, we also supply vehicles to these regions, so a single BEV option cannot provide transportation for everyone," he concludes.
Toyota has long been a proponent of a more diversified approach to cutting carbon emissions, rather than focusing on only one technology as a solution, namely electric cars. It has been accused of dragging its feet when it comes to electrification, but the renewed EV price war to battle a slump in demand, as well as the rise of hybrid vehicle sales, may ultimately prove it right to take the wait-and-see approach.
Akio Toyoda has other arguments in favor of Toyota's slow and steady approach, mainly that it is a leader in hybrids that it introduced more than 20 years ago and as a result Japan is the only developed country that managed to significantly cut its CO2 emissions.
"The important thing is not to convert to BEV or FCEV," he added, referring to electric or fuel-cell cars, but rather the reduction of CO2 emissions. That is exactly what Toyota is doing, all the while trying to live by its conviction that "freedom of movement should never be taken away from people in any region, country, or income group" as it may happen if electric vehicles are left as the only option due to government mandates or subsidy mismatching.
Still, in order to hedge its bets, Toyota made a significant EV pivot last year when it established numerous fleet electrification initiatives, including a dedicated production platform with Tesla-rivaling gigacasting method, as well as a solid-state battery commercialization plan.
