What makes Toyota president Akio Toyoda unconvinced about electric vehicles

Despite Toyota being one of the leading global automakers, it is not keen on taking an all-electric vehicle route under its electrification strategy. The Japanese car brand's president Akio Toyoda has expressed his scepticism about all-electric vehicles several times. He believes most auto industry people think similarly but never express their disapproval of EV-only strategy. He believes that the silent majority of the auto industry is wondering whether EVs are really okay to have as a single option for electrification, but they don't speak out loud as it is a trend.

While the Japanese automobile brand is under pressure to introduce electric vehicles due to the rising demand for zero-emission models and increasing competition, Akio Toyoda has reiterated that Toyota is not keen to take a battery electric vehicle-only strategy for its electrification plan.

The Toyota president has said that the automaker would rather focus on multiple options to explore zero-emission mobility. This is why the car brand is exploring a wide range of electrification technology for its vehicles. These electrification technologies include hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell, battery electric etc.

Akio Toyoda's recent comments about electric vehicles come as the most explicit summation of his company's long-standing strategy of exploring multiple options for electrification. His comments come at a time when several automakers worldwide have already set deadlines for going fully electric. Also, governments around the world are increasing pressure on the auto industry to adopt cleaner and greener powertrain solutions through tightening emission norms in a bid to cut vehicular emissions into the environment.

Toyota sees a way forward for hybrid cars and hydrogen-powered vehicles alongside EVs. Toyoda believes hybrid cars that combine petrol engines with electric motors for power generation and simultaneously cut emissions could be the perfect bridge to fill the gap between internal combustion engines and fully electric powertrain technology. The reason behind the automaker's lack of enthusiasm for electric vehicles may be partly because it just hasn't seen much success with EVs as other automakers. On the other hand, its enthusiasm for hybrid vehicles lies in the success of models like the Prius Hybrid. However, it is to be seen how long Toyota will stick to its existing strategy.