The Japanese auto giant has received a lot of flak from consumers and critics alike for being reluctant to join the EV bandwagon in the last few years
Toyota is finally planning the phase of the end of ICE cars in America. The largest car manufacturer on the planet has famously been sluggish to go fully electric with its portfolio. In fact, some even say that it has lost the edge as competitors, both legacy and new startups, have taken a massive leap forward towards electric mobility. This is particularly strange since Toyota was the one who pioneered hybrid cars almost a decade, to begin with. Interestingly, Toyota’s share of electrified sales in the U.S. in September was a commendable 48%.
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Toyota Sees End of ICE Cars in America
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Toyota’s Chief Scientist, Gill Pratt said, “In the US, there is a decision being made now — and I’m not a part of it — as to whether to stop making pure ICE for the US market. Just the fact that we’re thinking of that means that, OK, it must be close.” These are clear indications that the discussion is taking place at the top level. In fact, the latest sales trends unequivocally point toward the declining sales of Toyota’s ICE cars in America.
We must understand here that Toyota still won’t go all-in on pure EVs. Instead, it will continue to electrify its entire portfolio. It will majorly consist of hybrid powertrains, to begin with. Also, we have already read about the rather underwhelming plans of Toyota wanting to make solid-state batteries in-house by around 2028. Hence, it is clearly in no hurry to transition to EVs totally.
However, that is exactly where the strength of the Japanese auto giant lies. It has been the biggest proponent of hybrid cars (hybrids and plug-in hybrids). Not only that, despite discouraging sales data, it continues to be bullish on hydrogen as a fuel source as well. Its mantra is to follow a “multi-pathway” approach where the customers will have all sorts of options to choose from. For this, Toyota will set up a $13.9 billion battery factory in North Carolina to supply cells to fully electric and hybrid cars soon.
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Learn Electric Cars Says
When the biggest car marque in the world talks about the age of ICE cars coming to an end, it must have certainly observed something to come to that conclusion. Even if we take a look at the recent trend of the EV slowdown in the U.S., Europe and China, it is clear that the popularity of the current breed of EVs has plateaued. That also clarifies one point of contention among many carmakers about the irrelevance of the need to use hybrids to transition into EVs.
Some prominent automobile personalities, including Elon Musk, have said that hybrids won’t be necessary as EVs will become the norm soon. While it sure seemed that way for a while, the current situation disproves that theory. The demand and sales of hybrid cars have been rising recently. They emit less pollution, consume less fuel and are much more affordable in comparison to pure EVs. These factors make them an ideal candidate to enable us to get off petrol and diesel cars right away and gradually transition into EVs.