Toyota Chief Scientist Gill Pratt has come out to say that not every motorist on the planet should transition to a battery electric vehicle. In order to combat climate change, he believes that a different set of drivetrains should be implemented rather than one standardised system.
Speaking at the Reuters Events Automotive Summit, Pratt echoes statements made by company president Akio Toyoda and other officials that state that electric vehicles will play a greater role in reducing emissions, but other solutions should be considered alongside this. Toyota’s petrol-electric hybrid models or hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles are two examples of alternate powertrain choices.
Pratt said Toyota believes in “diversity of drivetrains” to give customers different tools to reduce CO2 emissions across the globe.
“It’s not for us to predict which solution is the best or say only this will work,” he said.
The Toyota Prius and Mirai are two products that the Japanese manufacturer has continually offered as eco-friendly options that do not go the fully electric route. It plans to further expand on these powertrains for future projects.
