Recently, there was a car company "giant crocodile" conference do not know whether the bad friends have paid attention to.
Sorry, I misplaced the picture.
It should be the following one - Toyota electric vehicle conference.
At the press conference, Toyota Group's fourth-generation grandson, "Bow" Akio, said that Toyota plans to invest $35 billion in the development of pure electric vehicles, and by 2030, plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles.
In addition to introducing five models that will be mass-produced in the next few years, we have also developed more than a dozen "Outlook" electric vehicles.
Inside there are coupes, SUVs, MPVs, sports cars, pickup trucks, mini BUS, this battle, Xu Jiayin looked straight to the insider.
By the way, the belief in everyone's eyes , "Thunder Car" - Lexus, will also be transformed into a pure electric vehicle brand in 2035.
It is estimated that many small partners will have doubts, like its GM, Volkswagen and other old car companies have been selling pure electric vehicles for several years.
Why is Toyota only now starting to engage in pure electric vehicles?
( The Toyota pure electric car here refers to the pure electric vehicle made by Toyota's own pure electric platform, which is not a joint venture)
Because Akio Toyoda, the soul of the Toyota Group, is a staunch opponent of pure electric vehicles.
This person also often says some outrageous remarks about pure electric cars, such as pure electric vehicles are more polluting than gasoline cars, and pure electric vehicles are over-marketed.
"If the government pushes for a ban on gasoline cars, the current auto industry will face collapse" ...
But at this conference, the thick-eyed Zhang Nan seemed to have changed his personality, "Toyota will release more pure electric vehicles to reduce emissions for a period of time, as a global company, we have the responsibility to join the pure electric camp to reduce carbon dioxide emissions."
This punching speed directly makes the big guys look stupid...
So is Toyota already behind before joining the pure electric camp?
Don't rush to conclusions, listen to the bad reviewers give you a wave of details.
In fact, Toyota is one of the earliest car companies involved in energy-saving cars, and when it sold hybrids in 1997, Musk was just a hairy boy who had just graduated from college.
Going back 20 years, Toyota Hybrid is a god-like presence in the automotive hybrid world.
In those years, the hybrid car market was always dominated by a god car, the Toyota Prius, which is also the highest cumulative sales hybrid car at present.
Here I will do a simple science popularization with you: hybrid can be roughly divided into oil-electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid.
The main force of oil-electric hybrid is oil, only when it is more fuel-intensive like starting, the motor will be used to drive, and the remaining main force is still the fuel engine.
The main force of plug-in hybrid is the battery, which needs to be charged to run by the motor, and the battery is out of power before oil is used.
More than 20 years ago, there were only two kinds of hybrid systems in the world, Toyota THS (Toyota Hybrid System) oil-electric hybrid system and other hybrid systems, which is the true portrayal of the hybrid world at that time.
Note: The hybrid here refers to the oil-electric hybrid, not the plug-in hybrid.
Where is Toyota's oil-electric hybrid system?
The charm of the THS hybrid system lies in the fact that it creates a planetary gear system with a high mechanical aesthetic.
We skip the principle and look directly at the results, the following hybrid system comparison table of various configurations can be found that Toyota's THS hybrid system developed based on the power shunt type has all the advantages of extender, parallel and series parallel.
In short, the oil is also saved, the power is not weaker than the oil car, and it is quite resistant to "grass" and is not easy to break.
Even the Hollywood movie star Xiao Lizi on the other side of the ocean, his girlfriend changes one a year, but he said: "I only need one car, that is, Toyota Prius." ”
In general, the THS oil-electric hybrid system in that era, invincibility was the end.
If you are interested, we can change the day to specially put the oil-electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid methods of major car companies to do a small science popularization.
But what do you say? It is also because of the excellence of the THS that Toyota is a bit stuck, causing it to miss the good era of plug-in hybrid system development.
Other hybrid systems have also imitated THS and even done better than it.
The Volt hybrid system of general motors in the beautiful country next door also uses planetary gears, but with some clutch changes, the person is still a range extender hybrid system.
In 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama also experienced the first Chevrolet Volt range extender electric vehicle.
In addition to such "external troubles" as the United States, there are also "internal troubles" in Japan.
Honda's i-MMD hybrid system uses a new engine and motor and battery system, making the Honda Accord more powerful and more economical than the Toyota Camry.
On our country's side, with the advent of the era of national new energy subsidies, the oil-electric hybrid system is no longer popular, and the sales of pure electric vehicles have ushered in a surge.
Plug-in hybrid models that can greatly solve battery anxiety and enjoy subsidies on the green card have ushered in the spring. (Plug-in hybrid can not be on the green card now also depends on the policy of various places.) ）
For example, the ideal extender hybrid system, BYD's DM hybrid system, and the DM advanced version of BYD's DM-i plug-in super hybrid system have almost divided Toyota's domestic hybrid market.
Toyota, on the other hand, has not been concerned about plug-in hybrids, although in 2009 engaged in plug-in hybrids, but has not been introduced into the country.
By 2019, when Toyota returned with the first plug-in hybrid Corolla dual engine E+ version that could be green carded, the domestic hybrid market had no place for it.
In addition to being overconfident in its own hybrid system, the over-investment in the "hydrogen fuel cell" is also another drag oil bottle for Toyota's pure circuit line.
Hydrogen fuel is indeed the most ideal energy source for new energy vehicles, which is also recognized by the industry.
But in today's era of liquid batteries and plug-in hybrids all over the world, it is a bit of a gamble to pour hydrogen fuel wholeheartedly.
In 2002, Toyota launched a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle driven by hydroxide reactions to generate electricity, which is also a leader in the industry.
In 2014, Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Mirai went on sale, which can fill Mirai's hydrogen storage tank in just 3-5 minutes, with a range of 700 kilometers under JC08 conditions.
Today's second-generation Mirai also has a 30% increase in battery life.
Although the technology is great, very advanced, and it is also a "real" clean energy, it is still too expensive.
In addition to the high pricing of hydrogen fuel vehicles, whether in Japan or other countries, hydrogen refueling stations are far less than gas stations and charging piles.
Hydrogen fuel vehicles do not have a perfect supporting guarantee, no gas and no gas, what do we buy it for?
The price of the overseas version of Mirai is equivalent to 505,000 yuan, is this money not fragrant for me to buy a BBA? Is it not good for the new forces to buy a top match in China to build a car?
So, Mirai sales crashed directly, toyota sold 9.92 million units in 2020, Mirai only sold 3320 units...
All in all, over-reliance on its own oil-electric hybrid system, but also fully invested in the research and development of hydrogen fuel cells, are the two direct reasons why Toyota missed the development of pure electric vehicles.
But is Toyota really not in a hurry at all? Not really.
In fact, as early as a few years ago, when Tesla sold a lot of water, Toyota tried to do pure electricity.
But Akio Toyoda still can't pull down, after all, he said conclusively: "Pure electric new energy vehicles are over-marketing." ”
However, it does not prevent my precious son Lexus from testing the waters. em... Men can't.
Toyota built a pure electric model of Lexus UX with fuel vehicle platform TNGA, with a NCDC range of 400km, zero hundred acceleration of 7.5s, and a price of 360,000.
Except for its name Lexus, this car is almost hoisted by pure trams of the same price in China.
In the first half of this year, the Lexus UX 300e sold 711 vehicles, an average of less than 200 units per month.
Not only that, the "thunder car" that everyone had to buy at a higher price at that time also began to reduce the price of promotion, and the maximum discount of lexus UX 300e in the past month reached 8.29%.
In addition to using Lexus to test the field of pure electricity, in 2019, Toyota also exchanged its own treasure THS hybrid system and hydrogen fuel technology to exchange GAC's pure electric vehicle technology.
This year, Toyota also cooperated with BYD, and even established a joint venture to set up BYD Toyota Electric Technology Company, allowing BYD to "teach" Toyota to build pure electric vehicles.
Some knowledgeable industry insiders also said that one of the 15 cars in Toyota's conference is pureLY BYD-made, and the key three-electric battery, electric drive and electronic control are ALL BYD,Toyota is responsible for installing a shell.
In the end, many people are saying that the current Toyota is the Nokia of the year.
Bad reviewers feel that this is a bit absolute, Toyota still has a solid car-making strength, and their hydrogen fuel cells and solid-state batteries have made solid progress in leading the world.
Ouyang Minggao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, once said, "From the perspective of the country, Japan attaches the most importance to all-solid-state batteries, does the best, and has the largest scale."
Whether electric vehicles can completely replace fuel vehicles, all-solid-state batteries are the key, and it is also the future development route of battery technology recognized by Toyota, Honda, Samsung and Cataltech.
Therefore, for now, Toyota has indeed missed the most "fat" outlet for the development of pure electric vehicles.
Today's pure electricity market, there are traditional car companies such as Mercedes-Benz EQ series, Volkswagen ID series, and there are also new forces like Tesla, Weilai, Ideal and Xiaopeng, whether it is relying on their strong research and development strength, or strong alliance with traditional car companies, they have grabbed their own world in the global new energy vehicle market early.
Toyota wants to squeeze in at this time to grab a piece of meat, it is indeed more difficult, but you have to say that Toyota has fallen behind on the road of car electrification, this matter is really difficult to say, after all, Toyota Akio still holds a lot of cutting-edge core technology in his hands.
As for how to go behind Toyota, is it possible to continue its glory in the field of pure electricity? Or was it slapped on the beach by the back waves? Or pull out a new battery technology like THS?
We'll all have to wait and see.
Author: yx Editor: Jie Jie & Xiao Xin XinMei Editor: Huan Yan
bibliography:
Theverge——Toyota’s electric vehicle plans are getting bigger and more expensive
Electrek——Toyota CEO shows lack of vision, spreads EV misinformation, and spells the end for the automaker
Zhihu - Toyota THS hybrid system
Toyota: Do you see me like Evergrande or Nokia?
Toyota's first plug-in hybrid is about to go public Will BYD panic?
Baidu Images – Akio Toyota; Toyota Inc.; Lexus; Nokia; Musk Bald