Written by / Qian Yaguang
Editor/ Zhang Nan
Design / Shi Yuchao
"Instead of simply adding BEV options to our existing models, we have prepared a competitive all-round lineup to meet the diverse needs of consumers." Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda said at an online news conference on December 14.
The pure electricity sector will account for half of the investment in electrification
The press conference announced Toyota and Lexus' future global electric vehicle strategy. Toyota said that by 2030, it will invest a total of 8 trillion yen (about 448 billion yuan) for the research and development of technologies and equipment for electrified models such as pure electric, hybrid and fuel cells, of which half, or 4 trillion yen (about 224 billion yuan), will be used in the field of pure electric power.
At the press conference, Akio Toyoda specifically mentioned the surge in demand for pure electric vehicles in the world, in order to accelerate the sales speed in this field, it is expected that by 2030, Toyota will introduce 30 BEV models, provide a full range of product lineups in various fields including passenger cars and commercial vehicles worldwide, and BEV's annual sales plan to reach 3.5 million units. This figure is an increase of 1.5 million units worldwide (including fuel cell models) from the 2 million vehicles set in May this year.
The Lexus brand expects to achieve a full lineup of BEV versions for all its models by 2030, achieving 100% BEV sales in China, North America, and Europe, and achieving a global sales target of 1 million units. By 2035, Lexus will achieve 100% global sales of BEV models.
Surprisingly, toyota released 16 pure electric new cars at this conference. Among them, 12 Toyota brands and 4 Lexus models cover sedans, SUVs, MPVs, sports cars, pickup trucks, K-Car, small BUS and other categories, basically covering the passenger car market. Among them, toyota bZ pure electric exclusive series has attracted much attention from the outside world.
bZ is the abbreviation of "beyond ZERO", which means that Toyota wants to achieve the value of "beyond zero emissions", not only to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants to zero, but also to allow everyone to enjoy the freedom of mobility, experience unique driving pleasure, and pursue longer-term goals.
The bZ series featured five models, including the bZ Compact SUV, the bZ Small Crossover and bZ Large SUV, and the bZ SDN in addition to the upcoming bZ4X.
In addition, the launch also unveiled 7 new models, including SPORTS EV, Crossover EV, Small SU EV, Compact Cruiser EV, Pickup EV, Micro BOX and Mid BOX.
Lexus' new models include the RZ, Electrified Sport, Electrified Sedan, and Electrified SUV. Among them, the Electrified Sport is a two-door two-seat sports car inherited from LFA, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2.5 seconds, with a range of more than 700 km/ h, and possibly using solid-state batteries.
It is reported that among the 7 models that toyota bZ pure electric exclusive series models have been planned, 5 will be introduced into the Chinese market in the future. By 2025, Toyota and Lexus will have 10 EV models in China.
In fact, Toyota started very early in the field of new energy. In 1992, Toyota established an electric vehicle research and development department; in 1996, Toyota introduced the RAV4 EV to the market; and in 1997, Toyota launched the world's first mass-produced HEV model, the Prius. At the beginning of the 21st century, Toyota implemented the "e-com" empirical test of small EVs; in 2012, Toyota launched the ultra-small EV "COMS" and the small EV "eQ"; in 2021, it launched the "C+pod" and "C+walk", accelerating the development of EVs including "e-Palette", and striving to achieve free movement in various scenes.
The bZ pure electric exclusive series launched this year concentrates the BEV technology cultivated since the launch of the RAV4 EV in 1996 and the latest battery and electric vehicle technology cultivated through HEV, which not only restores the concept car in terms of appearance design, but also the surprises brought by many technological configurations, battery technology, and driving pleasure, which is a big leap forward for Toyota in the field of pure electricity.
In addition, since the 1990s, Toyota has also developed fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen; in 2002, Toyota FCHV was launched; in 2008, through continuous empirical experiments, TOYOTA FCHV-adv was launched; and in 2014, the first mirai was launched. Since then, Toyota has continued to contribute to the reduction of CO2 in the field of all-round electrification of HEV/PHEV/BEV/FCEV.
The reason why Toyota will focus on the electrification strategy from now on the pure electric model, on the one hand, the market pure electric model is developing at a high speed far exceeding other new energy vehicles, and the main pure electric models are the general trend in China, Europe, and North America, and have shifted from policy-driven to market-driven, whether it is technology or people's cognition is gradually maturing;
On the other hand, the research and development of Toyota pure electric models has reached a mature stage, with its own electric platform and the core technology of three electric appliances, it can launch suitable models in different grades and different types of market segments, which can form a systematic advantage and support Toyota to obtain a favorable situation in the electric vehicle market.
As Lexus CBO Hiroji Sato said in an interview after the meeting: "I think it's important to convey a beautiful experience through the car as a product. The internal combustion engine has the smell of oil, the sound of the engine and other exciting things, beCAUSEV motor unique reaction, smooth acceleration and deceleration, quietness, etc., so that it has the added value that fuel vehicles do not have, by controlling the driving force to make the operation of the car become interesting, in this regard, electrification technology will play a very important role.
Now, it's been 10 years, and we've finally been able to create a BEV that makes President Toyota smile. In this sense, Lexus has certain expectations for creating exciting and exciting cars, and is willing to change in the direction of BEV."
The battery sector accounts for half of pure electricity investment
It is worth noting that of the 4 trillion yen investment in the 2030 switch to pure electric power, the amount of investment in the battery field is classified as 2 trillion yen, which is 0.5 trillion yen higher than the 1.5 trillion yen announced in September this year.
Batteries account for 40%-50% of the cost of pure electric models, which is much higher than the status of engines in fuel vehicles, and is the core technology in the core technology of electric vehicles. As the world's largest automobile company, Toyota, which is good at vertical integration in the field of vehicles, is naturally not willing to be controlled by people in the field of new energy, so it is normal to take the initiative of battery technology in its own hands, in fact, Toyota has also made great efforts in the field of batteries, but now the intensity has increased.
Toyota CTO Masahiko Maeda said that "we will reduce costs and sell them at a reasonable price to promote the popularity of pure electric vehicles", proposing a policy to reduce the cost of batteries by half.
Toyota said that in order to promote the popularity of pure electric vehicles, it hopes to control costs and provide them to consumers at a more favorable price. For batteries, Toyota hopes to achieve the goal of reducing the cost of batteries per vehicle by 50% compared with TOYOTA bZ4X by 2030 through the development of materials and structures. For the whole vehicle, starting from TOYOTA bZ4X until 2030, gradually reduce the power consumption per kilometer, and also strive to achieve the goal of reducing by 30%.
From the perspective of Toyota's 2030 battery strategy, it is mainly divided into two parts: battery research and development and supply.
In terms of battery research and development, Toyota will try to develop inexpensive raw materials that do not use rare metals cobalt and nickel, while developing a new battery manufacturing process and battery material process. Toyota will also adopt an out-of-the-box integrated battery structure that matches the vehicle to reduce costs and evolve battery control models.
On the supply side, Toyota will respond flexibly to changes in the market, and build a flexible supply network and production system based on small units to cope with the growing demand for batteries in the process of electrification.
At the battery briefing in September, Toyota plans to build 10 new production lines by 2025, and will continue to build more than 10 per year from 2026 to 2030, and strive to exceed 200 GWh by 2030. In addition to its own production, Toyota will also cooperate with companies such as CATL, Panasonic, Sony, and Toshiba to expand production.
Carbon neutrality offers a variety of options
Prior to this, Toyota expressed cautious views on the rapid popularization of pure electric models. Toyota has always believed that carbon dioxide is the biggest enemy of achieving carbon neutrality, so it hopes to provide a wealth of choices for low-carbon travel, hoping that users can freely choose travel services and products that take into account both "sustainable development and practicality" according to different regions, different purposes and different use scenarios.
Toyota believes that auto companies must think from the perspective of the whole life cycle to achieve carbon neutrality, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions in manufacturing, storage, use, recycling, and waste disposal. Therefore, since the beginning of Toyota's electrification transformation strategy, it has been from the perspective of the whole life cycle, focusing on the core areas of production, manufacturing, recycling and other core areas, and exploring a set of carbon reduction routes with unique technical characteristics and innovative thinking.
In Toyota's view, electrified vehicles can be divided into two categories according to the energy used: one is the "carbon reduction vehicle" that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and the other is the "carbon neutral vehicle" that can make carbon dioxide emissions zero. If the energy used is pure green energy, then even if the internal combustion engine is used, it is possible to achieve "carbon neutrality". To this end, Toyota has been working hard.
Although Toyota has now put the development of pure electric models in a more important position, Akio Toyoda still said in his speech: "The energy situation is different in different regions, and Toyota hopes to respond to all the situations and needs of various countries and regions, and provide diversified options for achieving carbon neutrality."
The decision on what kind of car to choose is not in us, but in the market and consumers everywhere. We want to provide consumers with as many options as possible before the final correct route is clear. ”
Akio Toyoda also pointed out: "Toyota is trying to expand the range of options and will take every option seriously. From the perspective of 3.5 million vehicles, leaving all customers with choices, after knowing the international market and consumer trends, we can quickly adjust, which is the key to improving the company's competitiveness, and being able to respond to the market in a timely manner is also our way of survival. ”
In an interview with the media after the press conference, Maeda Masahiko said: "From the consumer's point of view, BEV has both convenient and inconvenient places. In Brazil, for example, bioethanol is becoming practical, and bioethanol is cheaper than gasoline, so it is easy to circulate in the market. Even if BEVs are introduced in such countries, consumers may not buy them instead. Toyota hopes to seriously promote BEV, but at the same time it needs to identify the environment in which consumers are located and try to promote it a little bit. Of course, Toyota will also adapt to the corresponding changes as soon as possible, strive to shorten the whole process, and make preparations. ”
In an interview, Lexus CBO Motoharu Sato said: "Carbon neutrality is ultimately closely related to energy security, and it is necessary to balance the energy situation of each region, the use of consumers' automobiles and the actual needs, and it is necessary to consider the whole life cycle from production to transportation and use." The environment in which the car is used varies from region to region. We need to consider these factors together to produce and launch the best combination. Toyota has always worked hard to make the company more flexible, so when things change a lot, Toyota can also strategically respond to changes. ”
As Akio Toyoda said: "No matter what kind of powertrain is used, what kind of BEV is used, we hope to make consumers feel that it is a Toyota car, a Lexus car, and then experience Fun to Drive, smile, we hope to be able to create such a product." Toyota is actively working on carbon neutrality, and in a world where there are no right answers, Toyota wants to have a diverse range of options to meet the challenge, and we are all working hard for each option. ”