https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/19/toyota-chairman-tells-der-spiegel-evs-not-ready-mass-production-yet-expensive-slow-charge/ Toyota Chairman Tells Der Spiegel EVs Are Not Ready For Mass Production Yet, Too Expensive & Too Slow To Charge November 19th, 2017 James Ayre
[image https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2017/09/Tesla-Model-3-white-pop.png Tesla-3 ] In keeping with earlier comments from Toyota execs about electric vehicles, Toyota Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada was recently quoted by the noted German publication Der Spiegel as saying that plug-in electric vehicles are not yet ready for mass production and sale. “Battery-powered cars with a long range are very expensive and it takes a long time to charge them,” Uchiyamada stated. “Such cars do not fit in our program.” The Toyota Chairman also noted that his company didn’t view Tesla as an enemy or as a role model, but rather perhaps as a problem for the German auto manufacturers. “Tesla is not our enemy and not our role model,” Uchiyamada continued. “I think it’s the German manufacturers that rather see Tesla as a competitor.” That’s seemingly a true statement in that the market share that Tesla has been stealing in recent years has largely been that of luxury German auto manufacturers, but it has also been taking away Toyota Prius buyers — a lot of them. The Tesla Model 3 will do so to an even greater degree. Until Tesla begins selling models that are cheap enough that they can compete with Toyota’s mainstays, however, then Uchiyamada seems to have somewhat of a point. Reuters provides more: “Toyota in September established a venture to develop electric vehicle technology with partner Mazda Motor Corp, seeking to catch up with rivals in an increasingly frenetic race to produce more battery-powered cars. … Uchiyamada said that Toyota was working on a new type of solid-state battery that is able to store more power and can be recharged much more quickly than current types.” “This technology will be a big development step. But that will still take time. We expect mass production in four to five years,” he stated. In related news, Toyota and Suzuki have come to agreement that will see the two firms cooperate on the development and sale of plug-in electric vehicles in the fast growing market in India from 2020 onwards, and Toyota is considering a strategy in China of producing its electric products locally with a joint venture. In other words, rather than take bold steps to try to become a major battery electric car player globally, it is looking at piecemeal plans for specific locations where governmental policies basically require it. In other recent stories, Toyota expressed that it is still hopeful about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Seriously. [© Sustainable Enterprises Media] http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/electric-cars-not-ready-for-mass-production-yet-toyota-chairman-to-spiegel-2017-11-20 Electric cars not ready for mass production yet – Toyota chairman to Spiegel 20th November 2017 Reuters ... Toyota and Suzuki Motor Corp said they had agreed to cooperate in selling electric vehicles in India from around 2020, aiming to give each other a leg up in emerging markets and in low-emission technology ... ... https://www.cardekho.com/india-car-news/toyota-to-bring-prius-prime-and-small-electric-car-to-india-20967.htm Toyota To Bring Prius Prime And Small Electric Car To India Nov 20, 2017 The small electric city car will most likely come out of the Toyota-Suzuki joint venture ... ... http://speedlux.com/toyota-plans-selling-locally-developed-electric-vehicles-china/ Toyota plans of selling locally developed electric vehicles in China 18 November 2017 … we have started thinking about the possibility of having our China joint-venture partners provide us with EVs,” stated Hiroji Onishi, Toyota’s head of China operations, during the press conference at the Guangzhou auto show ... https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/international/toyota-to-re-enter-electric-vehicles-starting-in-china-from-2020-12049949 For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/archive/ {brucedp.neocities.org} -- Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/ _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
