Recently, Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation and chairman of the Japan Association, once again launched a fierce attack on electric vehicles at the G7 summit.
He was unrelenting in calling trams "low-class" and said he would resolutely resist this so-called "low-class" technology.
Akio Toyoda once again emphasized that electric vehicles are not a new thing, as early as the 90s of the last century, Toyota launched electric vehicles.
He argues that trams are neither environmentally friendly nor economical, and that they put enormous pressure on the power grid.
Akio Toyoda said that the essence of electric cars is still electricity, and most of the world's electricity comes from fossil energy sources such as coal and natural gas. If all the world's combustion engines were to be converted to electric vehicles, twice as much electricity would be needed, which would put a huge strain on the power grid.
In addition, Akio Toyoda also pointed out that electric cars consume a lot of resources and energy in the production process, and lithium is needed to make batteries, from the development of lithium mines to the use of old batteries**, there is a possibility of damaging the environment. He believes that trams are not environmentally friendly at all.
He also pointed out that the level of development of the global automotive industry is uneven, and many economically backward third world countries are not ready to embrace electric vehicles.
In fact, this is not the first time that Akio Toyoda has publicly criticized electric vehicles. In the past, he has repeatedly spoken out in public against electric vehicles, which is contrary to the current general trend of the global automotive market.
From a global perspective, more and more countries and regions have begun to embrace electric vehicles, and major automobile markets such as China, the United States, and the European Union are vigorously promoting electric vehicles, which is mainly due to policy support and consumers' increasing attention to environmental protection.
However, Akio Toyoda did the opposite and stood firmly against the train.
From Japan's point of view, Akio Toyoda's remarks are not entirely unreasonable.
Japan is a densely populated country, and if you want to popularize electric vehicles, you first need to solve the problem of charging. According to data released by Enechange, a leading infrastructure company in Tokyo, there are currently only 30,000 charging piles installed in Japan, which is an average of one charging pile for every 4,000 car owners.
And in China, 826 has been installed so far40,000 charging piles, with an average of one charging pile shared by every 1,800 car owners.
In addition to the scarcity of charging piles, charging fees for Japanese tram owners are also quite expensive.
One of the reasons why the vast majority of people choose to buy an electric car is because charging is more affordable than refueling. In Japan, however, industrial electricity prices are twice as high as those in China and South Korea, which makes trams relatively expensive.
According to an interview with Japanese economist Tetsu Watanabe, high energy prices, especially electricity prices, could have a significant impact on Japan's international competitiveness.
In addition, the power of charging piles in Japan is generally low, many of which are only a few tens of kilowatts. In China, the power of charging piles is often more than 200 kilowatts.
What is even more outrageous is that Japan is very strong in terms of hardware strength, especially in manufacturing, but it is relatively lagging behind in software.
For example, after buying an electric car in Japan, you need to go to the offline manual recharge card before you can go to the public charging pile to charge. In China, basically the charging pile has ***, which can be scanned **APP for operation, which is very convenient and fast.
In addition to the above-mentioned reasons, too few consumer choices are also one of the main factors. According to statistics, 95% of the new cars sold in Japan last year were Japanese brands, and Japanese brands monopolized the Japanese car market. More critically, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the Japanese market is only 29%, while in our country it is more than 30%.
However, despite some objective problems, Akio Toyoda's criticism of electric vehicles has also caused questions and controversy from the outside world.
Some experts pointed out that electric vehicles are the future development direction of the automobile market, which is determined by environmental protection, economy, technology and other factors. They believe that Akio Toyoda's criticism of electric cars is too one-sided and extreme, and does not fully reflect the advantages and potential of electric vehicles.
In fact, electric vehicles have made significant progress and achievements on a global scale.
Many automakers have launched their own EV models, and these models have been greatly improved and improved in terms of performance, range, charging time, etc.
In addition, countries** have introduced a series of policies and measures to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles, such as subsidies, tax cuts, free parking, etc. These policies and measures have effectively promoted the popularization and development of electric vehicles.
Some industry analysts believe that Akio Toyoda's criticism may be a remedy for Toyota's misplaced bets on electrification technology in recent years.
Unlike many car companies that bet on electrification technology, Toyota began betting on hydrogen energy many years ago, and launched the world's first hydrogen production car, the MiRai, in 2014. However, in the first half of this year, the mirai's global sales were only 2,328 units, a result that clearly disappointed Akio Toyoda.
Therefore, he frequently criticizes electric vehicles, perhaps to save Toyota's face in electrification technology and adjust its strategic direction for the future.
In conclusion, Akio Toyoda's criticism of electric vehicles has attracted attention and controversy from the outside world. Although there are some truths and objective problems with his remarks, some people think that his criticism is too one-sided and extreme.
In any case, it has become a consensus that electric vehicles are one of the future development directions of the automotive market.
With the continuous progress of technology and the development and improvement of the market, I believe that more people will accept and use electric vehicles in the future to contribute to the cause of environmental protection