Toyota to continue providing a range of products for customers to choose from as it ramps up carbon-neutral initiatives
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, announced at a Dec. 14 press conference in Tokyo that it is nearly doubling its battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales target to 3.5 million units per year by 2030, and will commit eight trillion yen ($70 billion) to its carbon reduction program.
Half of the amount will be used for BEVs, while the other half will be invested in other projects including hybrids and fuel cell engines. Around two trillion yen will be dedicated to the production of batteries, up from the previous 1.5 trillion yen. It includes a new $1.2 billion battery plant in North Carolina that will begin production in 2025.
Toyota also announced that its premium car division, Lexus, will have BEVs account for 100 percent of its vehicle sales in Europe, North America and China in 2030, totaling one million units, and have BEVs account for 100 percent of its global vehicle sales in 2035.
ONLY ONE-THIRD. Industry observers noted that Toyota’s 2030 annual sales target of 3.5 million BEVs represents only a third of its current vehicle sales compared to Volkswagen’s forecast in July that half of its global vehicle sales will be BEVs by that date.
At present, Toyota offers more than 100 models of engine-only vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles in more than 170 countries and regions. Lexus has introduced more than 30 models of engine-only vehicles, HEVs, PHEVs in more than 90 countries and regions.
Despite the fact that Toyota was the first carmaker to commercially produce an HEV, the Prius in 1992, and that many of its models along with Lexus have HEV and PHEV variants, the company has faced pressure from environmental groups to more quickly replace fossil fuel-burning cars that emit global-warming carbon dioxide, with zero CO2-emitting BEVs. In a ranking released during the COP 26 climate summit recently, Greenpeace ranked Toyota last for decarbonization efforts.
Last month, Toyota declined to join a pledge signed by six major carmakers including GM and Ford to phase out fossil fuel cars by 2040, contending that not all regions or countries of the world would be ready to transition to BEVs by then.
MANY OPTIONS. At the press conference last week, Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda said his company was still pursuing a multi-pronged carbon-reduction strategy that also includes HEVs and hydrogen-powered cars.
“We are living in a diversified world and in an era in which it is hard to predict the future,” he said. “Therefore, it is difficult to make everyone happy with a one-size-fits-all option. That is why Toyota wants to prepare as many options as possible for our customers around the world.”
“In this diversified and uncharted era, it is important to flexibly change the type and quantity of products produced while keeping an eye on market trends,” Toyoda added later in his remarks.
“Energy plays a critical role in achieving carbon neutrality. At present, the energy situation varies from region to region. That is exactly why Toyota is committed to providing a diversified range of carbon-neutral options to meet whatever might be the needs and situations in every country and region. It is not us but local markets and our customers who decide which options to choose.”
Regarding why Toyota tries to keep so many options when in terms of business management it would be more efficient to focus on fewer choices, Toyoda said the company believes “that quickly adapting to changes in the future is more important than trying to predict the future, which is uncertain. That is why we want to keep options available for our customers until the right path is clear.” In other words, Toyota would continue to provide a range of products for customers to choose from.
At a different occasion, Toyoda has been quoted as saying that the technology of internal combustion engines running on hydrogen fuel could help save some of Japan’s 5.5 million automotive industry jobs by allowing Toyota to keep supply chains that would disappear with a full shift to BEVs.
30 BEV MODELS. At the Dec. 14 press conference, Toyoda stood in front of 16 Toyota and Lexus BEV models that he said are being prepared for market launch. He said that Toyota and Lexus are rolling out 30 BEV models globally in the passenger and commercial segments by 2030.
The Toyota lineup of BEVs will be the BZ (Beyond Zero) series, which aims to go beyond zero emission and will be reasonably priced for the mass market. The first Toyota BZ model to be launched next year is the bz4X, a sport utility vehicle jointly developed with Subaru.
The first electrified Lexus will be the RZ (Z stands for zero.) A battery-driven high-performance Lexus sports car is also coming with bold proportions and low ride height, acceleration time in the low 2-second range, cruising range over 700 km, and possible use of solid-state batteries.
As Lexus evolves into a brand centered on BEVs, and batteries and electric motors are positioned to bring more freedom to BEVs, Toyoda pointed out: “This freedom will allow us to be more attuned to our customers, such as meeting the various needs of different regions, the various lifestyles of our customers, and, when it comes to commercial vehicles, everything from long-distance transport to last-mile delivery.”
Concluding his remarks on Toyota’s strategy for achieving carbon neutrality, Toyoda said that if the 5.5 million people in Japan’s auto industry and Toyota’s many more colleagues around the world were to take action “with unity of mind and with will and passion, we will be able to leave behind many smiling faces and a beautiful Earth for the next generation.”
