'The market will decide': Toyota chairman says EVs will never dominate global market even with 'political power'



The chairman of car manufacturer Toyota continued his push against electric vehicles in favor of hybrid vehicles and claimed that EVs will never have a majority share in the global market.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's remarks published on the Toyota website echoed previous comments made by the executive, in which he stated that there is a better path to reducing carbon than the enforcement of electric vehicles.

"No matter how much progress [EVs] make, I think they will still only have a 30% market share. Then, the remaining 70% will be [hybrid vehicles], [hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles], and hydrogen engines," Toyoda said, according to a translation provided by NewsMax.

"[Gasoline] engine cars will definitely remain. This is something that customers and the market will decide, not regulatory values or political power."

Toyoda previously stated that people were "finally seeing reality" regarding the EV market. He added that there were "many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality."

In 2022, the chairman also remarked on the auto industry having a "silent majority" who wondered "whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option."

"One billion people around the world live in areas without electricity," Toyoda reportedly said on the company's site. "In the case of Toyota, we also supply vehicles to these regions, so a single [EV] option cannot provide transportation for everyone."

"Do not deprive freedom of movement from any region, country, or income group," the chairman exclaimed.

The chairman also boasted that "Japan is the only developed country to have reduced CO2 emissions by 23%" through the use of hybrid vehicles.

Stories have been flooding the media landscape with reports of slowed production and usage of EVs, which have not come anywhere close to industry or government projections.

Asheville, North Carolina, said it was "pressing pause" on EVs after a fleet of electric buses broke down. The city was reportedly looking to reinvest in biodiesel-powered buses after investing millions of dollars in an electric fleet that is only partly operable.

Ford also implemented job cuts for its production of electric F-150 Lightning trucks in January 2024 and transferred manpower to a different production facility to produce gas-powered vehicles.

At the same time, European car dealers reported that the number of electric vehicles making their way into the European Union's used-car market was far lower than expected.

The rate of used-car purchases was just 2% or lower in select EU countries, with contributing factors including a higher purchase price, a perceived lack of charging stations, and the fact that the consumer worries about the driving range of plug-in cars.

AVERE, an EV advocacy group from Brussels, Belgium, disagreed with the figures put forth by the car dealers.

There is a "lack of trustful and aligned data," said Philippe Vangeel, AVERE secretary general. The advocate also blamed car dealers for lacking knowledge in electric vehicles, which he said made them less inclined to push the EV models.

Vangeel noted that there should be an increase of electric vehicle purchases in Europe when governments eventually force consumers to go electric through the implementation of low-emission zones.

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Toyota president says auto industry 'silent majority' wonders if electric vehicles 'are really OK to have as a single option'



While electric vehicles may seem to be all the rage in the automotive space, Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda is pumping the breaks on the idea of an all-in approach.

"People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority," Toyoda told reporters during a trip to Thailand, according to the Wall Street Journal. "That silent majority is wondering whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option. But they think it's the trend so they can't speak out loudly."

"Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn't limit ourselves to just one option," he said, according to the outlet — during the prior few years, he said, he has attempted to communicate this idea to stakeholders in the automotive space, including government figures, but he indicated that his effort had been tiring at points.

"Is there interest in electric vehicles? Yes. Is it more than 10% to 15% of our customer base? No way," Ryan Gremore, a dealer based in Illinois who owns a number of brand franchises, said, according to the outlet.

According to the Journal, Toyoda said that other options like hydrogen-powered vehicles were starting to receive a better reception from government leaders, media figures, and people in the vehicle industry.

The left has been fanatically pushing electric vehicles as it peddles climate change alarmism.

But electric vehicles remain impractical in many cases — for instance, they require significant time to recharge, which could be an inconvenience when recharging in the middle of a long trip. They are also less affordable to purchase than traditional gas-powered vehicles.