In his tenure as president and CEO of Toyota, Akio Toyoda has been criticised for slowing the progress of electric vehicle development. Succeeded by Koji Sato at the beginning of this year, Toyoda has been a proponent of a more balanced approach towards carbon reduction, instead of an EV-focused approach.
Now, Toyoda says his resistance to an EV-only path is vindicated as the EV segment has seen slowing growth in the United States. “There are many ways to climb the mountain that is carbon neutrality,” Toyoda told reporters at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 this week, reported Carscoops.
While EV segment growth has slowed, it continues to grow nonetheless, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that global sales of electric vehicles grew by 63% in 2022, though that rate has reduced to 49% in 2023 so far. The slowing adoption rate in the US has seen automakers General Motors and Ford consider slowing down production of elcetric pick-up trucks, the report wrote.
Now chairman of the board of directors at the Japanese manufacturer, Toyoda claims the development is proof that “if regulations are created based on ideals, it is regular users who are the ones who suffer.”
These sentiments were echoed by the president and CEO of Toyota Motor Asia Pacifc (TMAP) Hao Quoc Tien, who spoke at a media briefing ahead of the Japan Mobility Show 2023. If Toyota had carried on with a single-minded focus on EVs, it would lead to Southeast Asian markets – including Malaysia – fall behind even further in terms of EV adoption due to limitations of charging infrastructure, Hao said.
Toyota estimates that between 20% to 30% of sales in Asia will be EVs, and it continues to work hard to reduce carbon emissions across a range of technologies for the other 70% that is comprised of non-EVs, via what it terms a multi-pathway approach to sustainability, Hao said.
This multi-pronged approach consists of the internal combustion engine (petrol or diesel), bio-fuel compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), battery electric vehicle (BEV, or EV) and the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).
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So ICE is here to stay. EV’s electric generated by carbon-burning sources also getting no way. Same to Hydrogen generated by electric which again majority energy from carbon-burning sources.
But Im sure of is the “fuel w/o subsidy” to T20 and many from M40 will feel the pain 2months later when kicking into 2024
Climate change in the first place is an “ideal”. A theory. Yes, transition to greener lifestyle but don’t shove green products down our throats! I’m with Toyota on this one.
In the US, the reason BEVs are failing is due to:
1) Expensive BEVs like F150 Lightning and Mach-E Mustang which no one can afford.
2) Terrible charging infrastructure unless you are using a Tesla where you can just plug and play
3) high insurance rates due to expensive repair costs for BEVs compared to ICE. Tesla being anti-rapair makes it easier to just write off the car than to repair.
4) Plain ugly BEVs like the EQS
5) Very high interest rates to purchase any car has made people vary of trying new tech
6) No place to charge your BEV unless you live in a single family home
Main reason is usa consumer purchasing power is dwindling down plus high interest most couldn’t afford EV
Reduced consumer spending power is happening all over the world, not just in one country.
Agreed with him on us has bigger issue compares to far east countries
Why do you say that we have bigger issues compared to far east countries? Isn’t Malaysia in the far east? May be you’re not Malaysian.. Probably you’re another mossad agent trying to destabilize Malaysia with disinformation, for supporting the Palestinians.
LOL Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing has better business prospect than Toyota LOL
Haha.. Typical Japanese BS when they can’t beat China in the EV race. Regardless of fuel, bio etc. It still needs regular maintenance. Waste of time and money. ICE ain’t bulletproof and I’m sure many have seen ICE breakdown on the highway. Sorry, BEV ftw.
EVs are dying not just in the US, sales are also down in Europe and China. EV companies in China also making losses.
Not true. The overall economy down across the world. BEV demand is keep increasing but it won’t be like past few years rocket high climbing rate.
Why move to BEV? It is basically maintenance free compare to ICE. Many other car brands fall behind BYD and Tesla because the selling price of EV is high while Tesla and BYD selling EV in cheap price. Infra is not mature yet but it will get mature in 10 years time. When solid state battery (SSB) finally implemented and lower cost, it is game over for ICE. SSB only need 10 minutes charge and gives a roughly 1000km range. The greatest part of SSB, this battery is almost unbreakable. Even after 1 million KM travelled the battery degradation is only about 10%.
In the meantime, one more 9 year loan for ICE car before changing to EV. Next 9 year loan for my future BYD in 2032.
“Dying”??? fewer EVs were sold in H1 2023 vs 2022. Yet, EV as a % of total sales was unaffected. How does this constitute as dying? BYD is posting record profits and Tesla is still dominating markets. How can EVs be dying? You know what’s dying? the legacy automakers that failed to keep up / produce sub-par EVs with old tech and convert ICE platforms into EVs.
watch this bro…
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpcR2c0AmG8
Just wait till you will see all byd, nio, ora catdog and all crippled
Blurshark EV kapcai already dead on arrival also
Where got people finally? Only you finally see the reality.
Mr Toyota is right. so better buy EV b4 price go up
Total sales % may have dropped Y-o-Y but the market share of EV versus Total cars sold has increased in H1 2023. Toyota needs to buckle down and focus on making better EVs. The Bz4X is DOA with such basic features. “I told you so” but then Toyota announced a host of EVs by 2030. Funny fellows. Oh and BTW, while US and European manufacturers are claiming a slowdown in EV sales, BYD just posted a record quarterly earnings. Make sense of that ! BYD and Tesla are showing these legacy automakers that they’ve been left behind. Rather than focus on improving themselves, these legacy automakers are crying foul and even trying to convince the EU to impose special taxes for Chinese EVs entering European markets at much lower prices. None of these legacy manufacturers give a damn about cheaper car prices for consumers. They just want to protect their bottom-line ! I hope they go the way of the Dodo bird.
Toyota and the west are indulging in wishful thinking because they can’t compete with the Chinese in EV both in terms of battery tech, software and cost. It’s true infrastructure for EVs is still lagging in most countries but that will change.
Prices of base model EVs in China are already cheaper than base model ICE cars. Chinese EVs are also way cheaper than western EVs. They will take the lower end market, then absorb the premium market. Surrounding the countryside to take the city, in Maoist parlance.
Taxis/ridehailing is driving EV adoption in China due to lower fuel/power costs (esp when stuck in jam) and lower maintenance. Reports say EV taxis are notching 1mil km milage without needing the overhaul ICE requires. Consider that BYDs blade battery are good for 1.2mil km lifespan.
Toyota’s and other legacy automakers’ dawdling and refusal to accept reality will be the end of them. It’s coming.
Who wanna buy chinese EV? Low quality, people who have extra money go for japanese or western EV
Have you tried any chinese EVs? low quality? They have better tech than most european EVs. BYD has superior battery technology. Meanwhile, BMW, Merc, VW are making EVs using ICE platforms. They cannot compete with dedicated EVs with superior technology. Try to drive a few EVs and then come back and talk.
I sat in a few BYDs (Didis) in China and their build quality is surprisingly high, in fact very high, certainly higher than anything Proton or Perodua can even get close to. Ride quality is also excellent.
Twenty years back you may be correct about chinese carmakers because they were essentially using 20 year old VW parts. It is a much different landscape now. BYD, NIO, ChangAn all make really good cars.
There are at least 300 EV manufacturers in China, majority of which are just pure rubbish or niche players. BUT what that means is that competition is cut throat. You won’t survive by selling a substandard product.
The chinese domestic market itself is bigger than the entire European market + ASEAN. Also with rising income (already same per capita income as Malaysia, in 2000 it was 10x less), consumers there are becoming more discerning. You just cannot sell the VW Santana like in the 90s and call it a good car.
Like it or not, chinese carmakers will dominate because of quality AND cost, at least in countries where they are not subjected to protectionist suppression. On the higher end, sure, it will take time but look how Koreans are pricing their cars now.
an alternative way to put it is:
Chinese EVs are what people can afford (not an aspirational brand) but will upgrade to something else once they have the money for it. That’s why you see more BYD than other makes on the road over here – it’s the mass market option.
They’re not terrible EVs, but definitely less refined than their competition. Sit in an Atto3 vs anything from the Germans/Hyundai-Kia going at moderate speeds of 70km/h+…or drive over those horrible red rumble strips and it becomes glaringly obvious that the Atto3 is a budget option.
At the rate Japan is going, they don’t have much to offer in the EV space, unfortunately. It’s a pity because more choices are always a good thing for consumers.
Some people’s mindset still stuck in the last century. What battery is Tesla now using? BYD blade. Who are the German automakers striking deal with to power their EVs because they are lagging? Chinese EV makers. People used to say Chinese smartphones were crap. Not anymore. Huawei is state-of-the-art. Mate 60 Pro is the first smartphone to be able to make satellite calls.
There was a time people derided Japanese cars as tin-can junk. It’s the same with Chinese EVs now. It’s beyond deluded to think Chinese products are cheap and crap when they are already ahead in HSR, 5G telecom, quantum computing, e-wallet, a super app in WeChat (which Oolong Musk hopes to emulate) and is the only country that has a counterpart to all US tech firms: Baidu, Beidou, Alibaba, Weibo, Douyin/TikTok. Personally, I’d take the BYD Seal over any of Tesla’s offerings.
many years of creating fear and hate of China, has made China a pariah in the news.
seem like now the US is the pariah.
You are absolutely right. Things have changed. Those who fail to change their mindset are preparing themselves to fail.
Another Nokia and Kodak in the making… Same Denial attitude… Let’s witness how fast the next Nokia/Kodak happens now… Clock is ticking while it continue to deny the forward moving…
Toyota, bogged down by UMW & their AP hoarder are just among the factor to fan away their successful hybrid away from Malaysian buyers… talk with the high note with just Corolla Cross has an “affordable” hybrid variant offering… Toyota’s noise on the reasoning to support their approach is just hypocritical to their own theory that has loose footing
Well said..EV is a joke
nah you’re just a laggard like Toyota.
toyota refuse to embrace change just like how they use the their engines for generations to generations.
Recently, tempted to buy an EV. Did some research and found that it is still too early to do so. The cars with long range equates to about 600km. real world is usually 20% less. Fr where I live, on a full charge I will be able to make it to Penang hit and miss. That means having to have access to charging back 100% in Penang. Fast chargers are still rare.
Seriously wanted to change but not yet because a modern conti petrol car can travel 800km to 1200km highway on a single full tank, which is good enough for my return trip to Penang, sightseeing, stop by in Ipoh and still have spare fuel in tank. Even if it were to be running low, a simple 5 mins refuelling stop is all that is required.
you can do the same with 5 minutes charging with Tesla super charger station…not all EV car company is built the same. Choose wisely ;)
here in lies the problem.. can’t find one easily when needed. 5 mins charge is not full charge. don’t forget that EV battery currently operates best at 10% – 80%. this shrinks the real world usable charge to 70-90%. I don’t think it is wise to run below 15% which reads 50km. With greater numbers eventually on the road, imagine the charging hotspots will be a tragedy waiting to happen. Google Tesla queuing and you can.see it in USA where they are all waiting in turn to charge . Malaysians are not known for their queuing etiquette … balik kampung is going to be a great challenge. Just to cap it, I am a car lover. Appreciate the tech, the instant torque, the pricing (tax free and highly subsidized overall ) but struggling to make it fit into my working Malaysian lifestyle
How frequent you travel 1000km within 3 days? If every month also need long haul travel then the best is stick to ICE. I am doing outdoor sales and 1 month travel about 2000km. I don’t own an EV now but I don’t feel pressure if I were to buy an EV since I stay landed house. If I charge the car after 300km travelled, 1 month only 7 times for charging. EV is not same as smart phone which we need to charge daily. The smartphone battery capability is small and also we spending more time on phone than in EV. An EV with range of 600km on paper the real world will be about 450km only. But it still capable for us to travel from KL to Penang and go around Penang before needed a charge.
If that is your usage pattern and/or single car family I have to agree. Especially during balik kampung season you will be stuck at charging points queuing to get a charge. Fights have broken out in the UK over queue jumping at charging stations.
As far as charging is concerned. Here is my story. I booked a Polestar 2 in the UK and had to drive about 200km but Hertz wants it returned with >80% so I had to find charger for it.
What a mess. Had to Google maps my destination. Calculate how far that is. Find charging points along the route, calculate how much juice will be left when I return it. Not very friendly. I had to Google what charging apps I needed, how much each costs, whether the charging point supported the car, etc.
In the end, my plans changed and I rented a Tesla instead. What a breeze. Enter the destination, start driving. It will tell you if, where and when you need to charge.
Yup same here. Practicality is still not there. The only use scenario I can see for myself is getting a cheap EV like a seagull (if it ever comes here with a low price tag) to travel to and back from work along with morning market trip and leaving the long distance travel from KL to Penang to my ICE. Unless I can see a charger every 20-50 km on the road during my journey (just like how petrol stations are), I still ain’t gonna have only EV for my main car. It’s not the ‘hey.. no problem , you can travel up to 600km’ or whatever, it’s the ‘will the chargers be available and usable at the time of need instead of me waiting in line for others to charge first’.
I don’t think any major manufacturer (apart from Tesla and BYD) are going full-force into a full EV transition right now so what Toyota is rambling about? Nobody is ditching fossil fuels overnight.
Their Korean neighbours have already pulled ahead in the EV game where motoring journalists worldwide are pitting against some of the top German marques. Solid success, but at the same time they are still releasing new hybrid and petrol models within their product mix – you don’t see them whining about the EV future.
Note: Hyundai-Kia isn’t popular in Malaysia as we’re very pro Japanese; but they’re rapidly taking over US + Europe markets and objectively speaking – they are much better built than their Japanese competition for many years now.
Even Nissan is making attempts with the Ariya, Leaf, and Sakura to serve JDM buyers.
IMHO Toyota has already been on the path to becoming a dinosaur before the EV conversation; and this resistance to change just cements it further.
EV cetak rompak tofu mahal jugak
Haha, curiously for years the Americans, Europeans, Koreans and Japanese (exception of Mazda) sing praises about EVs and NEVs,and suddenly shift course when to loose out to the competition. No one is denying EV has its problems but the market in China has proven EV is possible. If you see YouTube influencer videos on “EV market crashes and softness in China”, dig deeper. almost all of these videos, including the oft cited “EV graveyards” has been debunked as the West’s wishful thinking and echo chamber. Don’t cite me, go do the research citing actual industry reports and academic research (and not opinion pieces or influencer echo chambers).
Reality is , EV is doing very well for the Chinese EV manufacturers, suddenly catapulting them to become the biggest car exporter in the world. And EV has taken so much market share (around 30-40 vs ICEs) that major cities in China have seen a welcome drop in pollution, both in terms of noise, particulates and noxious gases
it’s curious to see such sudden and concerted uptick in “anti-EV” rhetoric and doomsayers. The pattern is too drastic to ignore and viewed as a natural phenomenon. Your guess is s good as mine why this is so artificial. but go track the news cycle and you’ll see this uptick suspiciously hints of a veiled media campaign or concerted groupthink that conveniently occured right after the announcement in the news of China becoming the biggest exporter of automobiles in the world.
Toyota is smart. EV is just a Chinese ploy to gain foothold. More and more breakdown or Until you or your garage or house get burnt with unstoppable fire, I prefer Trump’s card – Petrol all the way.
Why doesn’t anybody dare to mention these EV brands Weltmeister & LETIN? Earlier this year, LETIN had applied for bankruptcy. Recently, Weltmeister applied for ‘pre-restructuring’ due to cash flow problems. So, the EV business isn’t always profitable for everyone.
ICE and EV will be keep going in the future, people who doesn’t like ev , can stick with their Ice. In the recent months , I have seen more Ice owner didn’t like ev but very less ev owner hated on Ice car. Even if ev only runs about 200k km and died out , there are people who will buy ev too. Same goes to omakase and buffet or a normal meal. Different price , different quality, different environment but still people will spend on it. Its 2023, its easier to owe a car than a decade ago, we usually don’t stick with one car forever anymore especially for newer generation.
Due to lack of infra, now EV is only good as your 2nd or 3rd vehicle, not meant for travel to work. I would buy only if I have extra money and knowing that infa might not be improved in 5 years, EV is only for going to 99speedmart and sending my children to school.
rich man’s toy for the foreseeable future. live in apartment with one parking can just forget about EV unless it can charge wirelessly
EV range 400km , how far distance you drive each week?
Toyota should just stick to making good ICE cars and bring back those legendary cars such as Celica, MR2, real “Supra”, Caldina and so on. There will still be big crowd for ICE car buyers and enthusiasts will always choose ICE over EV.
Mild electrification is fine just to keep up with modern tech & regulations, but Toyota should just stick to ICE.
Also, don’t always compare with US because China is bigger. Wait till India goes EV and then it’s gonna be a huge market shift. Also one of the reason EV slowdown in US because less EV cars breaking down, which means less people buying new car to replace their old EV car.