Image Credits: STR/NurPhoto / Getty Images
The president of Toyota has made it clear that he hates electric vehicles. He offered another one this weekend.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Toyoda said that most of the people in the auto industry are quiet. The silent majority is wondering if EVs are a good option. They think it's the trend so they can't speak out loud.
He may be correct. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of automotive executives don't like EV's The automotive industry was slow to embrace EV. They left promising products to die on the vine. The products that rolled off the assembly line were the minimum required to comply with the law. If they stop making gas and diesel vehicles, at least they have an alternative to batteries, which have become an industry-wide problem as the supply chains experience growing pains.
Some might think that Toyota's electric intransigence is strange. The mass-market hybrid-electric powertrain was the brainchild of the company. It has decades of experience with electric motors, battery packs and battery management systems, which are part of an EV powertrain.
The industry had grown accustomed to tweaking the internal combustion engine to make up for its deficiencies and hybrid was not a radical change. When fossil-fuel engines are the least efficient, hybridization added electric motor to help the car roll and assist at low speeds.
Many of the mechanical engineers in the ranks oflegacy automakers are experts at wringing extra tenths of a percent out of combustion engine technology Their core competency is not their ability to design electric powertrains. Shifting to electric vehicles would put electrical engineers in charge.
Toyota's embrace of hybrid technology shouldn't be seen as a stepping stone to an electric future, but as another attempt to prolong the reign of the internal combustion engine.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
