Dec 17 2020 – Akio Toyoda says converting entirely to EVs could cost hundreds of billions of dollars and make cars unaffordable for average people.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s leader criticized what he described as excessive hype over electric vehicles, saying advocates failed to consider the carbon emitted by generating electricity and the costs of an EV transition.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said Japan would run out of electricity in the summer if all cars were running on electric power. The infrastructure needed to support a fleet consisting entirely of EVs would cost Japan between ¥14 trillion and ¥37 trillion, the equivalent of $135 billion to $358 billion, he said.
“When politicians are out there saying, ‘Let’s get rid of all cars using gasoline,’ do they understand this?” Mr. Toyoda said Thursday at a year-end news conference in his capacity as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.
He said car ownership could become “a flower on a high summit”
Landers, P (2020 Dec 17), “Toyota’s Chief Says Electric Vehicles Are Overhyped”, The Wall Street Journal, https://www.wsj.com/articles/toyotas-chief-says-electric-vehicles-are-overhyped-11608196665
Glon, R. (2020 Dec 18), “Toyota Boss: Don’t ban internal combustion engines”, Autoblog, Toyota boss: Don’t ban internal combustion engines