Akio Toyoda once again "sings down" about electric vehicles, saying that "only one option is not enough"! Toyota insider: Taken out of context
Every reporter: Pei Jianru Every editor: Dong Tianyi
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda once again expressed his views on pure electric vehicles.
At the 40th anniversary of the NPS Research Society held recently, Akio Toyoda said that Toyota serves about 1 billion people around the world, and in order to provide cars to places where there is no electricity, it needs to develop in multiple ways. "From the perspective of the development of pure electric vehicles (BEVs), it is expected to account for 30% of the global automotive market. The remaining 70% are HEVs, hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV), hydrogen-fueled vehicles, and in my opinion, gasoline vehicles, which will definitely have a place. In Akio Toyoda's view, it is not the prescribed value or political forces that determine this, but the customers and the market.
It is worth mentioning that Akio Toyoda's prediction of the market share of pure electric vehicles has attracted the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who responded with "Sigh" on social media.
In fact, this is not the first time that Akio Toyoda has made relevant remarks about pure electric vehicles, and many of them are regarded as "bombardment" of pure electric vehicles. Just last year, during the Tokyo Motor Show, Akio Toyoda said that the company's slowdown in sales justified his resistance to electric vehicles. Automakers should continue to invest in hybrid vehicles instead of going all-in on electric vehicles.
Image source: Toyota China's official website
In this regard, a Toyota China insider told the "Daily Economic News" reporter, "In fact, many times, this so-called 'singing down' remarks are misreading, and may only be a small part of the president's speech, not the full meaning he expressed."
Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Association, said in an interview with reporters that Akio Toyoda's remarks on pure electric vehicles reflect the pain and anxiety of traditional car giants in the transformation process. "For a car company of Toyota's size, transformation is a very difficult process. Cui Dongshu said.
Pure electric models will account for less than 1% of sales in 2023
According to the latest sales data released by Toyota, in 2023, Toyota's global sales (including Lexus, Daihatsu, Hino, etc.) will be about 11.2 million units, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%, ranking first in the world for four consecutive years. Among them, the sales of pure electric models are about 104,000 units, accounting for less than 1% of the total sales.
Toyota aims to sell 202,000 BEVs in the fiscal year ending March this year, but lowered its target to 123,000 units in November last year, citing supply and demand issues.
"One option is not enough. Akio Toyoda believes that Toyota is a global company and a manufacturer with a complete product matrix, which needs to be developed in multiple paths.
"We're taking steps to provide more options. Toyota has one thing that other companies don't have, and that's hybrids. However, there has been little media coverage of this. Instead, they just say 'Toyota's BEV development is too slow'. It's not about BEVs or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, because no matter which powertrain is used, the enemy of carbon neutrality is CO2. Akio Toyoda said.
Image source: Toyota China's official website
According to Akio Toyoda, Toyota will launch a new engine project, and there will be more detailed explanations in the future.
"Among all the partners in the automotive industry, there are too many partners who have dedicated their lives to engines. However, when BEV becomes the new darling of the times, do they feel that their previous lives have lost all their meaning? There are even cases where engine-related suppliers are unable to obtain bank loans. I think the future depends on everyone working together to create, and if you only choose some of the options, then you might as well not do it. Akio Toyoda said bluntly.
"When it comes to multipathing solutions, we didn't have a lot of partners until last year. Three years ago, I was the only one in the automotive industry clamoring for multipath solutions. Therefore, I have suffered a lot of setbacks, and it is not easy to work alone."
Just recently, the Volkswagen Group said that before 2027, the Volkswagen Group will still produce fuel models, and BMW Group Chairman Zipzer also mentioned at the 2023 World New Energy Vehicle Conference that the response to climate change requires multiple paths, and BMW is going all out to develop pure electric vehicles. In the long term, efforts should be made to combine pure electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles to meet the diverse needs of global consumers for personal mobility.
This year, two more BEVs will be launched in the Chinese market
It is worth noting that in line with Toyota's positive sales growth in the global market, Toyota's report card in the Chinese market is slightly inferior.
According to official data, in 2023, Toyota's sales in the Chinese market will be about 1,907,600 units, a year-on-year decrease of 1.7%.
"Toyota has been deeply aware that we are not doing well enough in China, the frontier market of electrification and intelligence. Therefore, we need to speed up and keep up with the pace of Chinese users and meet the needs of Chinese users. The relevant person in charge of Toyota China told reporters.
In August last year, Toyota changed the name of its R&D base in China from Toyota Motor R&D Center (China) Co., Ltd. to Toyota Intelligent Electric Vehicle R&D Center (China) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as IEM by TOYOTA), and divided the R&D teams of the three joint ventures of FAW Toyota, GAC Toyota, and BYD Toyota into the R&D projects led by IEM by TOYOTA, and strengthened the local R&D of all-round electrified vehicles (BEV, PHEV, HEV, FCEV). In addition, Denso and Aisin will participate in IEM by TOYOTA's R&D activities to accelerate the development of electrified powertrains.
According to the plan, by 2026, Toyota expects to launch 10 new BEV (i.e., pure electric vehicle) models, with annual sales of 1.5 million units. To this end, in May last year, Toyota Motor President Tsuneji Sato announced that Toyota will invest 5 trillion yen in electric vehicles-related fields by 2030, an increase of 1 trillion yen from the previous investment plan, and establish a BEV factory, an exclusive organization for BEVs.
Image source: Toyota China's official website
In China, in addition to the bZ4X and bZ3, Toyota expects to launch two more locally developed BEV models in 2024 to meet local demand.
"Of the 1.5 million BEV sales target, a significant part of it needs to be achieved by the Chinese market. Hiroki Nakajima, CTO (Chief Technology Officer), Vice President, and Executive Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, once told reporters, "There is no doubt about the global status of electrification in the Chinese market, and new models introduced in China will definitely account for the majority of BEV plans by 2026." In the future, Toyota will unswervingly promote the development of electrified products in the Chinese market."
"Nihon Keizai Shimbun" commented in the article, "In 2023, Toyota's sales in China will decrease by nearly 2% compared with 2022, and it will decline year-on-year for two consecutive years." In the Chinese market, Toyota is being affected by the rise of local manufacturers such as BYD, which has an advantage in pure electric vehicles. ”
"In the face of major changes such as CASE (i.e., connectivity, intelligence, sharing, and electrification), Toyota's approach is not necessarily the right one. But if we don't make changes, we're bound to fall behind. Akio Toyoda said, "We should find the best solution for ourselves, and blindly following it is never the right answer." In the end, if we can get the recognition of customers and the market, then we will definitely be able to change the future. ”
National Business Daily