Toyota is pushing back against critics of their electrification strategy, noting that they need to offer a variety of powertrains for their customers.
The pushback came during Toyota’s annual general meeting yesterday.
Toyota doubled down on its position to stick with its current technologies, including fuel cells and full-hybrid vehicles.
Toyota was responding to a question from AkademikerPension, which we reported earlier this week.
In their response, the company noted that the goal is carbon neutrality. However, customers need to choose, and specific markets do not yet have the infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles.
In addition to producing zero-emission vehicles, Toyota is also working to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from producing the vehicles.
Toyota has been slow to start producing EVs. Last year, the company announced an investment of $60 billion by 2030 to electrify its cars. Half of that investment is to develop EVs.
Toyota also released its first mass-produced EV last month. The vehicle is only available for lease in Japan, and there are no current plans to change that stance.
However, Toyota expects EVs to account for only about a third of their sales, or 3.5 million vehicles, by the decade’s end.
We shall see how Toyota fairs as Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen and even Nissan transition quicker to EVs than the Japanese giant.
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Source: Automotive News