Toyota continues to be wary of going all-electric. True to its brand, its CEO still wants to bet on thermal engines as part of the hybrid.
Last week, Toyota unveiled its future electric pickup and hydrogen. During this presentation, however, CEO Akio Toyoda was cautious about adopting ‘zero emissions’.
The Japanese manufacturer has always had a cautious approach on this subject, favoring the hybrid. Next year, the new Prius will be released as a plug-in hybrid version. And despite a bZ electric range, Toyota is still trying to exploit hybrid engines.
“I believe we need to be realistic about when society will be able to fully embrace battery electric vehicles and when our infrastructure can support them at scale”said Toyoda.
“It’s like the fully self-driving cars we were all supposed to drive now. I think battery electric vehicles will take longer to become mainstream. And frankly, that’s not the only way to achieve the world’s carbon neutral goals. »
According to Akio Toyoda, he is not the only one to think this. The Japanese even claims to be part of a silent majority that opposes electricity in the industry.
And talking with representatives and leaders of manufacturers, we can not deny having already heard this speech. But according to Toyoda, the decisions already made make it impossible to oppose this future.
“People in the automotive industry are largely a silent majority. This silent majority wonders if it’s really good to have electric as the only option. But they think it’s the trend and therefore can’t express themselves loudly. »
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