At a recent company meeting in Japan, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda told managers that he thinks electric vehicles will only ever make up 30 per cent of the global car market.
As reported in the latest edition of the Toyota Times company magazine, the chairman said that the future of the brand isn’t fully electric but rather involves offering customers a mix of powertrain options like hybrids, fuel-cell electric vehicles, as well as hydrogen-, petrol- and diesel-burning internal combustion engines.
“I think this is something that customers and the market will decide, not regulatory values or political power,” said Toyoda.
He noted that one billion people around the world live without electricity, those of which live in areas where Toyota sells its vehicles. It’s for that reason that the Japanese carmaker hasn’t taken an EV-only stance for its product line-up like other manufacturers have, a decision didn’t come without its fair share of criticism from the media.
“The important thing is not to [fully] convert to BEV or FCEV. The enemy is CO2,” the chairman said.
Even if Toyota did decide to become a fully electric brand, Toyoda believes it would only be able to sell to less than a third of the world’s car market.
“No matter how much progress BEVs make, I think they will still only have a 30 per cent market share,” said Toyoda.
“Then, the remaining 70 per cent will be HEVs, FCEVs, and hydrogen engines. And I think engine cars will definitely remain.
“Japan has its own way of doing things. I don’t think the correct answer is to try to imitate the West in everything. I believe that if we continue to be chosen by the market and customers, the future will definitely change.”
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