Toyota president questioning industry’s push for EVs

Toyota president Akio Toyoda has questioned the automotive industry’s plan to phase out petrol and diesel powered vehicles and replace them with electric vehicles (EVs).

The comments were made to reporters at Toyota’s 60th anniversary event in Thailand, citing that EVs were merely part of a trend.

“People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority,” Toyoda said.

“That silent majority is wondering whether EVs are really ok to have as a single option. But they think it’s the trend so they can’t speak out loudly.

“Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn’t limit ourselves to just one option.”

Many car manufacturers have already committed to a fully electric future with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Honda, and much of General Motors all planning to cull their internal combustion engine lineup for good in the coming years.

Toyota on the other hand is exploring a variety of different options like hydrogen burning combustion engines, carbon neutral fuels, and hydrogen fuel cells as future alternatives.

That’s not to say it won’t explore the electric market though considering it just launched its bZ4X EV in the middle of this year while also revealing a fully electric Hilux concept earlier this month.

However, Toyota isn’t going all in on the electric bandwagon as it believes there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” powertrain for consumers and that they want options.

“In pursuing carbon neutrality, carbon is our enemy, not the internal combustion engine,” Toyoda said last year.

“To reduce carbon, I believe there should be practical and sustainable solutions that fit the circumstances of each country and region.”