The CEO of Toyota says electric vehicles (EVs) will be a big part of multi-model selection, including internal combustion engine vehicles.
Key Details
- In response to the global push for fossil fuel reductions, major car manufacturers like Ford, Dodge, Honda, and Porsche have begun preparing for large-scale EV production.
- The Inflation Reduction Act invests $369 billion into climate change research and tax credits for cleaner energy.
- Automakers have responded by ramping up production on battery production, seeking out supply chains for resources, and unveiling new EV concept cars.
- Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is less optimistic that the market will embrace EVs at the rate major automakers are pushing them out.
- While his company is one of the leading producers of clean alternatives with its Prius, he is warning that it may be unreasonable to meet California’s stated goal of a substantial reduction in gas-powered cars within the next eight years.
Why it’s Important
As we previously reported, the International Energy Agency is not projecting that the current push for clean energy is going to have an immediate impact on fossil fuel consumption. It is predicting oil demand to peak by 2035 and barely decline by 2050.
It is going to take a long road to convert the U.S. auto industry fully to EVs, and that will include slowly phasing out the production of new models of gas-powered vehicles over time. Oil and gas-powered vehicles will remain prominent for at least another few decades as older models remain on the road.
Toyota has promised to invest $28 billion into EV development over the next decade but hasn’t promised to fully phase out gas-powered vehicles—instead promising to introduce lines of gas-powered hybrids, hydrogen-powered, and more gas-powered vehicles in the immediate future.
“Toyota’s stance reflects the numerous and sometimes conflicting considerations for automakers, which are seeking to boost sales, serve diverse customer bases and meet increasingly strict environmental standards in many countries. The decision contrasts with that of competitors such as General Motors Co., which has pledged to go all-electric by 2035,” says Fortune.
Notable Quote
“EVs are just going to take longer than the media would like us to believe … We have to look at the current price range and infrastructure availability and at what pace they’re going to be upgrading. Realistically speaking, it seems rather difficult to achieve,” says Toyota.
