The car of the future is hybrid or hydrogen, not electric — or at least that’s what Toyota’s global president claims, Akio Toyoda. The executive said that sales of Electric vehicles will not exceed 30% globally. The rest will have hybrid or hydrogen engines, the two technologies in which Toyota has invested more than others.
Toyota doesn’t believe in electric cars: the future is hybrid or hydrogen
During a university lecture, reported by Toyota Times, the automotive company’s internal publication (via Tom’s Hardware), Toyoda said battery advances don’t matter: the non-car future is not electric.
“No matter how much progress battery electric vehicles make, I think they will still only have a 30% market share,” Toyoda explains. According to the manager, the remaining 70% will be represented by hybrid vehicles (HEV), hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEV), and hydrogen engines. Customers will choose between these different technologies based on their preferences, without the need for public incentives.
At the moment, the adoption of electric varies greatly depending on the market (and charging systems). As Tom’s Hardware points out, Norway has already exceeded 30% of electric vehicle sales. Others have decidedly lower results: in Italy it is around 4%, compared to a European average close to 16%.
President Toyoda also criticized the fact that the electric solution is currently considered essential for everyone. Instead he claims that internal combustion vehicles, if powered by green fuels such as hydrogencould become fundamental for the mobility of the future.
Toyota, among the first automakers to use hybrid engines (the Prius is more than 25 years old), has slowly adopted electric. He announced his first electric car, bZ4Xin 2021. However, the company explained that the resources used to produce an electric vehicle could be used to build 90 hybrids. This should offset emissions over the entire life cycle.
In addition to investments in hybrid vehicles, Toyota has continued to support hydrogen fuel cell technology, with prototypes such as GR Corolla e GR Yaris. A different approach, for the same goal: reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It remains to be seen whether Toyoda will be right, or whether electric will dominate the car market. What do you think about it?
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Tom’s HardwareToyota Times