NY Times Seems Upset That Toyota Is Working To Delay Electric Vehicles

Perhaps Toyota isn’t seeing profit in them? I wish I could find the list again of the top 100 cars for lowest depreciation. There were only two hybrids on it, both Prius’. Not one EV

Toyota Led on Clean Cars. Now Critics Say It Works to Delay Them.

Electric vehicleThe Toyota Prius hybrid was a milestone in the history of clean cars, attracting millions of buyers worldwide who could do their part for the environment while saving money on gasoline.

But in recent months, Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, has quietly become the industry’s strongest voice opposing an all-out transition to electric vehicles — which proponents say is critical to fighting climate change.

Last month, Chris Reynolds, a senior executive who oversees government affairs for the company, traveled to Washington for closed-door meetings with congressional staff members and outlined Toyota’s opposition to an aggressive transition to all-electric cars. He argued that gas-electric hybrids like the Prius and hydrogen-powered cars should play a bigger role, according to four people familiar with the talks. (snip)

The recent push in Washington follows Toyota’s worldwide efforts — in markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia — to oppose stricter car emissions standards or fight electric vehicle mandates. For example, executives at Toyota’s Indian subsidiary publicly criticized India’s target for 100 percent electric vehicle sales by 2030, saying it was not practical.

Together with other automakers, Toyota also sided with the Trump administration in a battle with California over the Clean Air Act and sued Mexico over fuel efficiency rules. In Japan, Toyota officials argued against carbon taxes.

Hybrids make sense. EVs don’t. The average price for an EV is $54000. That’s higher than a fully loaded Sienna or Highlander. And an EV will go a whole lot less per charge. And most people cannot afford that. Even without factoring in tax, tags, dealer fees, can you guess how much a 5 year loan for $54k with $2000 down is at 1.9APR? $909 a month. And that car will be worth crap-all when they go to sell it.

“Toyota has gone from a leading position to an industry laggard” in clean-car policy even as other automakers push ahead with ambitious electric vehicle plans, said Danny Magill, an analyst at InfluenceMap, a London-based think tank that tracks corporate climate lobbying. InfluenceMap gives Toyota a “D-” grade, the worst among automakers, saying it exerts policy influence to undermine public climate goals.

By “public”, do they mean “government”? Explain the costs to consumers along with the limited range and extra time for travel and the citizens might put the brakes on this idiocy. Let’s say I had a Tesla and wanted to head down to Wrightsville Beach for the day. The least expensive is the Model 3, around $39000, with a range of 260-353 miles per charge. It’s around 130 miles from Raleigh to Wrightsville. But, you can hit some great traffic going through Wilmington. What if I need to charge? There’s one station across the Intercoastal. Too far to leave charging and walk. There’s certainly some on the way back. I don’t mind sitting around for an hour, right? Not bloody likely.

In statements, Toyota said that it was in no way opposed to electric vehicles. “We agree and embrace the fact that all-electric vehicles are the future,” Eric Booth, a Toyota spokesman, said. But Toyota thinks that “too little attention is being paid to what happens between today, when 98 percent of the cars and trucks sold are powered at least in part by gasoline, and that fully electrified future,” he said.

Until then, Mr. Booth said, it makes sense for Toyota to lean on its existing hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles to reduce emissions. Hydrogen fuel cell technology should also play a role. And any efficiency standards should “be informed by what technology can realistically deliver and help keep vehicles affordable,” the company said in a statement.

How’d the Volt do? Sure, government bought a lot, but, consumer sales were low. Same with the Honda Clarity and most. People do not want this. Has the NY Times replaced their use of fossil fueled vehicles with EVs? Toyota is not stupid. They have a pretty good grasp on what consumers want, what they are willing to pay, and the fallout from forcing this switch. A switch that politicians are mostly not making in their own lives.

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7 Responses to “NY Times Seems Upset That Toyota Is Working To Delay Electric Vehicles”

  1. Tony says:

    Despite the fact that my wife’s Toyota was demon possessed and easily the worst car we’ve ever owned, I will give credit to Toyota for throwing a flag on the “all electric, all the time, RIGHT NOW, forever!” insanity that has gripped about every other auto maker on the planet.

    Thank you, Toyota.

  2. Mikey says:

    You should always remember that one of the basic assumptions in the push for electric vehicles is that the average American will not have personal transportation at all. There is no intention for everyone to have an electric car. The push is going to be that you can go where electric powered government controlled transportation allows you to go. Liberals (read Communists) can’t stand the personal freedom that the car represents.

  3. Kye says:

    “Liberals (read Communists) can’t stand the personal freedom that the car represents.”

    You noticed that too, Mikey? The left has been trying it’s best to fuk-up the joy of driving almost since the first horseless carriage appeared. They know perfectly well there is no way wind and solar can generate enough power day and night, summer and winter and through all the climate changes, storms etc., to keep our houses, businesses an 400 million ev’s rolling. Not gonna happen and never could. Like everything else they spout it’s bullshit.

  4. Hairy says:

    Depreciation is a large cost of owning a car
    But really one must look at the total cost of ownership over say 5 years ( the average time a car is held by a private buyer)
    In that case most would agree that a tesla mid 3 is cheaper town for 5 years than a Toyota carry
    And the Tesla ( even with no tax incentives) is no more expensive than the average car sold in the USA

    • gitarcarver says:

      But really one must look at the total cost of ownership over say 5 years ( the average time a car is held by a private buyer)

      We’ve been down this path before.

      You repeating the same lie doesn’t make it true.

      The automotive research firm, iSeeCars.com, analyzed more than 5 million vehicles sold by their original owners to identify which cars are kept the longest. The average length of car ownership for the top 10 models ranges from 9.7 to 11.4 years – or 14.9 percent to 35 percent longer than the overall average of 8.4 years.

      “While the average new car buyer holds onto their car for 8.4 years, there is a wide variety of cars that owners are more likely to keep longer,” said iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “Sports cars typically aren’t daily drivers and don’t accrue high mileage as a result, so it takes them longer to show signs of wear and tear.”

      source: https://www.iseecars.com/how-long-people-keep-cars-study

      According to Edmunds, the standard Tesla 3 model MSRP range: $39,990 – $56,990

      For the Toyota Camry, the MSRP range: $25,045 – $35,620

      Since you have problems with facts and math, that’s a difference of $14,945 base models to $21,370 top of the line model.

      Tesla recommends replacing the battery at 8 years (shorter than the average ownership of cars)of ownership and the cost of replacing that battery is $13,000 – $16,000.

      There is also a failure point on the Tesla battery for the cooling fluid and if it comes off or is damaged, Tesla will only replace the entire battery and not just the nipple.

      And the Tesla ( even with no tax incentives) is no more expensive than the average car sold in the USA

      According to Kelly Blue book, the average car in the US costs $38,723. Given the base price of a Tesla is $39,990, the average of all cars – base or fully equipped models is still less than that of the Tesla

      In other words, you are full of it.

      As a side not NHSTA just issued a recall notice for 2017 – 2019 Chevy Bolts saying that even though they had issued a recall previously, the “fix” is not working and the batteries are catching on fire. The NHSTA is advising owners to not park the Bolt anywhere near a home, structure or other car, and to not park it inside the garage as it could burn the house down.

      Also, you won’t address this but 1 out of 5 owners of any electric car say they will not buy one again.

      It is clear that you have a hatred for things like basic math, economics, and facts.

      That is understandable, since all the left has is hate.

  5. est1950 says:

    My daughter bought a hybrid mini-van. She has 3 children. A tiny little EV does not do the trick for her and the biggest vehicle, the Tesla model S, states at like 80k.

    So her hybrid gets 30 miles on a charge before the engine kicks in. She averages 80 miles per gallon. 38k negotiated price.

    It takes a full 24 hours to charge her Hybrid using 110. To convert a single plug in her garage the electrician has to run wires from the circuit breaker inside her house to the garage through attic and then install the plug. My buddy is an electrician and she has a friend who is an electrician and 6 months later she is still waiting for either of them to work up the desire to work for free since my Daughter is a tightwad beyond all reasonableness.

    The estimate to have a 220 volt in the garage was 1900 dollars. Another option is a charging station financed in with the auto which adds 5.5 grand to the price of the car and they will install a charging station in your garage. As you can see. Money grab. The exact same thing can be done for 2 grand by an electrician. The difference is the charging station charges the Hybrid to full in about 45 minutes while the 220 by the electrician takes about 1 hour five minutes.

    The point being. To make everyone happy the auto industry should make hybrids of everything and make that the only option. Even diesel Trucks should have that option of having battery power for 30-40 miles.

    However….She has 22 solar panels on the roof of their home so her charging is basically free. The solar panels cost 50k dollars to install. So in reality she is paying 50k, 32k and 2-5 k for the right to have cheap energy.

    This is not something the poor can afford but according to Zach each according to his needs so in the communist near future every poor person including the homeless will have Tesla model S’s, a 3 bedroom home and a guaranteed income and 40,000k in incentives to buy a Hybrid or electric car.

    Welcome to Utopia in which the USA economy becomes the USSR in about 3 years. I do however recommend if you have wind or solar that a hybrid is a great buy if your not into racing and stuff as around town it will be crazy cheap to operate your vehicle.

  6. Unkle C says:

    Teach’s comments about charging in the ‘more rural areas’ highlights some of the core issues with EV’s. The only fully developed fueling systems are based on ICE’s. We looked at Teslas and after discussion with a rep, we might still consider one, the Model S is a nice ride, but the cost of ownership is high. With the Tesla software package, your car will locate ‘supercharger’ stations on your route and other charging locations as well. If you are traveling around cities or major corridors finding a charger isn’t too bad.
    Charging at home is another kettle of chum. You’ll need about 50 amps worth of 220v electricity available, an electrician, and a couple of grand. If you don’t have enough power capacity, then the cost jumps. Charging an EV on 110v is basic and generally a minimal charge and really only practical for the ‘plug-in’ hybrids. Do your homework before jumping into an EV.
    The 600lb gorilla to the Greenies wet dream of a total EV fleet is charging. If every home in our 2400 home subdivision added another 50 amps, the power Company would need to install another substation to power the EV’s. A sibling gorilla is trucking, I did some research on electric trucks a year or so back and their charging needs are exponentially larger than cars and present some interesting problems. Try to think about a large truckstop out in a rural area and each of those trucks needing a couple of hundred amps worth of charging and the infrastructure needed to provide it.
    There is a long way to go and there needs to be discussion about the vehicles, their range, charging, and the regularly overlooked issue of maintenance. Maintenance is substantial as much of this infrastructure has a rather short useful life.
    2 parting caveats: Do the math, and Follow the money. https://www.thepiratescove.us/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_smile.gif

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