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Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s recent anti-EV tirade was confusing on several levels. At the automaker’s recent annual meeting, he denounced the Japanese government’s recent proposal to phase out fossil-fueled vehicles from the mid-2030s.
Toyoda has revisited the demystified bugaboo of the ‘long tailpipe’ – the idea that battery electric vehicles produce more emissions than ICE vehicles if they are powered by fossil fuel electricity – which has been proven wrong by numerous studies (here is an article with links to a few dozen of them). He argued that electric vehicles are too expensive and that “the current auto industry business model will collapse” if ICE vehicles are phased out.
It’s confusing. Has Mr. Toyoda forgotten his own story? In 2010, as Toyota signed a (short-lived) deal to procure batteries from Tesla, he was apparently impressed with his test drive of a Roadster, saying, “I felt the wind, the wind of the future. . ” Soon after, he decided to give the California startup a princely gift, selling the old NUMMI facility in Fremont, Calif., To Tesla for $ 42 million (a source had valued the plant at $ 1 billion. of dollars).
Above: Look back at when Elon Musk and Akio Toyoda came together on stage in 2010 to celebrate the future of electric vehicles (YouTube: The Auto Channel)
It’s strange. Does Mr. Toyoda not know what is going on in his own business? Toyota has two separate joint ventures with BYD and Panasonic that are working on battery technology and building a new $ 1.2 billion electric vehicle plant in the Chinese city of Tianjin. In April, Toyota launched 3 new BEVs for the Chinese market. Just a few weeks ago, Toyota announced plans to be the first company to sell an electric vehicle equipped with a solid-state battery, and said it would unveil a prototype next year.
It’s weird. Hasn’t Mr Toyoda heard that in November plug-in vehicles made up 16% of the entire UK car market, over 20% in Germany and 80% electrifying in Norway? Hasn’t he read Tesla’s Battery Day, or does he think Elon Musk and his company are dreaming? Doesn’t he know that battery costs fell 87% between 2010 and 2019? Did he miss the news that an EV manufacturer recently reported a pack-level battery cost lower than the long-awaited price of $ 100 / kWh?
No, dear readers, I don’t think the CEO of Toyota is misinformed on these matters. He looks at the same information as the rest of us and apparently comes to the opposite conclusion. (Even petroleum industry trade magazines such as OilPrice.com report on the dismal prospects for the fossil fuel industry.)
Journalists in the electric vehicle industry reacted with trembling incomprehension to Toyoda’s comments. Fred Lambert, of Electrek, called the venerable industry leader a “little mind” and “myopic,” and worryingly predicted that “if Toyota’s leadership does not show a massive change in attitude towards electric vehicles next year, they’re going to be finished. “
However, the apparent disconnect with reality may seem less baffling when you consider how common it is. Let’s review some of the anti-EV statements we’ve heard from auto executives over the past two years.
In June 2019, BMW Development Director Klaus Frölich said: “There are no customer requests for BEVs – none.” The only thing unusual about this statement is that he said it at an event where his company announced plans to build 25 new plug-in models by 2025.
In January, Nissan’s global product strategist Ivan Espinosa announced plans for a new line of gasoline-powered vehicles that would replicate the superior driving experience of electric vehicles. One way or another, these next-gen dinosaurs are said to “allow the customer to fully experience the feeling of EV driving without being in an EV.” He also hinted that “the hassle of recharging” an electric vehicle was too difficult for women: “We have a lot of Leaf drivers and in some cases the technologies we use today are not so. friendly for them. ”
In July, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann said ICE vehicles “will stay alive for a very long time” and that his company “will continue to invest heavily in the development of combustion engines”. VW brand chief Ralf Brandstätter made similar comments. Apparently, at odds with an earlier statement from a VW spokesperson that the company will be rolling out its latest generation of gas burners from 2026, Brandstätter said VW has been offering ICE models for a long time. “We always said we would have different types of propulsion on a level playing field in the long run.”
As erroneous as these statements are, at least these leaders can say that they were publicly expressing their personal views, as they have every right to do. Aston Martin appears to have engaged in much worse behavior, in an attempt to turn public opinion against electric vehicles. In November, researcher Auke Hoekstra, a tireless debunker of anti-EV propaganda, found evidence that Aston Martin employees had created a fictitious public relations firm, which published a so-called “study” riddled with lies. and disinformation (as reported by CleanTechnica). As is unfortunately often the case with these articles on the “dirty little secret of EVs”, the “study” planted was taken up by several mainstream newspapers, which took it at face value.
It is baffling to see industry leaders engaging in such self-defeating behavior, but it is sadly not surprising. The point is, auto executives have always given different speeches to different audiences. When they tell us about the young Turks in the media in the electric vehicle industry, they talk about their intention to make electric vehicles an ever larger share of their total sales and remind us how concerned they are about leaving a world best to our grandchildren. When speaking to representatives of the old guard, many of whom fear (with some justification) that electrification will cut profits for automakers, they may feel pressured to assure investors that their companies are going to do very much. slowly and with caution when it comes to. to EVs, or even to fuel the fantasy that these unwanted electron disruptors may soon disappear altogether.
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Written by: Charles Morris
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