Akio Toyoda's views on electric vehicles may partly reflect the mixed sentiments of traditional automakers about this emerging market. Although Toyota is one of the world's largest automakers, it does not dominate the electric vehicle space compared to some competitors such as Tesla and BYD.
According to foreign media carscoops reports, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda once again sang about electric vehicles, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said "speechless" on social platforms.
A few days ago, at a recent business event, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda once again made negative remarks about electric vehicles, he said, "No matter how much progress is made in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel vehicles will still account for 70% of market sales." In other words, in Toyoda's view, electric vehicles, which are now in the limelight, will only account for 30% of the overall sales of the future car market.
Akio Toyoda believes that about 1 billion people around the world do not have access to electric vehicles because of charging facilities, so electric vehicles cannot be accepted by everyone. Toyota's mission is to reduce carbon emissions, but it doesn't have to be an electric vehicle. He also complained that he didn't explain why electric vehicles are the best option for the future. Toyota said that what kind of powertrain to adopt is determined by customers and the market, not by regulators or **. That's why Toyota is promoting multiple power sources around the world.
Regarding Akio Toyoda's remarks, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also responded on social **, his reply was very simple, there is only one word sigh, which means sighing, which can also be understood as helplessness and speechlessness. As for what other profound meanings there are, everyone understands for themselves.
After all, Akio Toyoda's statement on the decline of electric vehicles has been too much before:
At the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, Akio Toyoda said that over-reliance on electric vehicles is not good for the environment, as most of the electricity comes from burning fossil fuels. He also pointed out that the over-promotion of electric vehicles could lead to an increase in CO2 emissions.
In a 2020 interview, Akio Toyoda questioned whether electric cars were really more environmentally friendly. He mentioned that while electric vehicles reduce tailpipe emissions, the production and disposal of batteries is not entirely environmentally friendly, and in some regions, electricity is mainly generated from fossil fuels.
Akio Toyoda has repeatedly mentioned that the large-scale promotion of electric vehicles requires a sound infrastructure. He worries that without adequate charging facilities, electric vehicles will not really solve the mobility problem.