In the last year we’ve seen many car companies announcing their intention to go all-electric. Jaguar plans to do it as early as 2025, while Volvo and Mini have set a 2030 date. Even mainstream brands like Volkswagen are going all out on electrification, with the German carmaker hoping that between 50 and 70 percent of the cars it sells in 2030 will be battery-powered, depending on the market in question.
But Toyota is taking a far more cautious approach to the abandonment of internal combustion. The Japanese carmaker announced this week that by 2030 only 25 percent of the ‘electrified’ vehicles it sells will be fully electric or hydrogen-powered FCEVs. This means that hybrids will still make up the bulk of the company’s sales. In fact only 15 percent of the cars it sells in the US in 2030 will be EVs and FCEVs, according to the company’s projections.
Many might argue that the world’s largest carmaker is in danger of falling behind the times, but perhaps one could say that Toyota is simply being realistic about the potential of electric vehicles. Only time will tell.
In the meantime, Toyota – a latecomer in the EV space but a pioneer of hybrids – is forging ahead with a new range of battery-powered vehicles built around a version of the TNGA platform that was developed specifically for EVs. First to see light of day will be the production version of the bZ4X concept that was revealed in Shaghai last month. This Rav4-sized SUV will be followed by 14 other fully electric vehicles by the year 2025.
The longer-term plan, of course, is to go completely carbon neutral, which is something that Toyota intends to do by 2050.
“For over 30 years, Toyota has been innovating and investing in technology to reduce vehicle emissions and achieve carbon reductions,” said Toyota’s North American chief administrative officer Chris Reynolds.
“And, although some people believe concentrating resources on one possible solution will achieve the goal more quickly, we believe investing in many different solutions will actually be a faster way to achieve carbon neutrality around the world.”