Quote:
Originally Posted by thingstodo
Hmm. I have not seen any Toyota news lately. Based on what they have said this year, I'm out of Toyota entirely (and it would take a lot of convincing to get me anywhere near them)
Last I heard, Toyota:
- still had their head in the sand, stating that they would be selling 20% EVs in 2050
- were still talking up ICE as a strong seller in 2050 (50% or more I think)
- were still doing hybrids with tiny batteries, not decent sized batteries with 'range extender' ICE. Most of their vehicles still don't have plugs, right?
- were still committed to their path on Hydrogen fuel cells for passenger vehicles (the other 30% in 2050 ... )
Did I miss a MASSIVE turnaround at Toyota? I hope I did!
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Toyota doesn't talk a big game years in advance, like Tesla does. It simply announces their next big thing a few months before making it available for sale.
You're assuming EV is the most profitable platform. Currently EVs lose money for everyone but Tesla, with larger ICE vehicles being where big profit margins are found.
Electrifying a vehicle is extremely easy, especially for a company that has already figured out how to do the most difficult task; integrating ICE and electric into a hybrid. In other words, if/when EV becomes a profitable endeavor, they will easily be able to make those products.
Toyota has not only announced an EV (bZ4X) and had previously offered an EV (RAV4), but they announced solid state battery technology to be appearing in products in the not too distant future.
It was bad timing for all the manufacturers to jump into EVs this early because battery technology sucks, and not just a little. Only a great fool would get into an unprofitable game and rave about how awesome the sucky technology is. A better strategy is to point out the obviously terrible current state of technology while continuing development in secrecy.
I tend to agree hydrogen is a dumb idea, but that's only evident by hindsight. Had hydrogen gained political favor, Toyota would have been among the few to mightily benefit. They gambled on that and probably lost. It was high risk, high reward.
EVs accounted for 2% of vehicle sales with $7,500-$10,000 in subsidies in the US. They have a very long way to go to become compelling to the masses, let alone become profitable.