Toyota will not change its strategy for electrified vehicles and does not believe that selling only EVs is the right move in the future.
While many of its competitors have made commitments to switch their ranges exclusively to electric vehicles over the next decade, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda remains steadfast in his belief that the smarter option is to offer consumers a wide range of powertrain options, including EVs. , but also hydrogen-powered vehicles, ICE models and hybrids, Bloomberg reports.
Speaking to dealers at a recent event in Las Vegas, Toyoda said the introduction of battery-electric vehicles will “take longer than the media would have us believe”, adding that it remains the automaker’s strategy to do the “maximum possible”. to offer an offer. series of drivetrains.
“That’s our strategy and we’re sticking to it,” he said.
Toyota has pledged to spend $28 billion to bring 30 electric vehicles to market by 2030. While this is less than some competitors like Ford, who are spending $50 billion on EVs through 2026, Toyoda says the Japanese automaker has been investing in battery technologies for two decades.
“Our investments may seem smaller than others, but if you look at what Toyota has done over the past 20 years, the total amount may not necessarily be small,” he said. “Toyota is a department store of all kinds of powertrains. It’s not right for the department store to say, ‘This is the product you should be buying.’”
Separately, Toyoda said he is skeptical that the automaker will be able to achieve California’s mandate to ban sales of new gasoline vehicles by 2035, while also demanding that a large portion of sales be EVs by 2030.
“We need to look at the current price range and infrastructure availability and at what rate they will upgrade,” he noted. “Realistically, it seems rather difficult to achieve.”
