- The Associated Press reports that Toyota plans to convert older cars into eco-friendly models by updating parts.
- CEO Akio Toyoda announced the initiative at an industry event in Tokyo on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
- Toyota has been reluctant to produce EVs due to concerns about high costs and lack of demand.
Toyota has ideas to make its cars greener, but that doesn’t include producing new electric vehicles.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said the company plans to use a “conversion” strategy that involves turning older vehicles into more sustainable models by replacing certain parts. The Associated Press reported.
Toyoda, the grandson of founder Kiichiro Toyoda, said at an industry event on Friday that Toyota is considering replacing older vehicles with sustainable technologies such as fuel cells and electric motors.
“I don’t want to leave car lovers behind,” Toyoda said at the Tokyo Auto Salon, according to the Associated Press.
The proposal marks an important step for Toyota, which has lagged behind its competitors in adopting electrified vehicles.
The company has faced mounting criticism for its lack of commitment to producing EVs. Mainly because of the high cost of manufacturing cars and Toyota’s claims that some markets, especially the US, are not ready for his EV. The Wall Street Journal reported.
Instead, the company has explored alternatives in the form of hybrid vehicles that run on a combination of gasoline and electricity, and hydrogen-powered vehicles. Toyota has established itself as a leader in hybrid vehicles, but some believe the company’s dedication to hybrids has served as a means of avoiding a widespread push to electric vehicles, he said. AP reported.
According to Electricwhich tracks the development of electric vehicles, Toyota produces less than 1% of its U.S. sales from non-hybrid zero-emission vehicles and has “the least developed supply chain to reduce carbon emissions”.
At the event, Toyoda said, according to The Wall Street Journal, “regulations have encouraged a race to get EVs out as quickly as possible,” but ultimately “that’s not Toyota’s approach.”
Despite its hesitation to adopt an EV, the company has set a target for December 2021. 3.5 million EVs sold annually by 2030At the time, Toyota had committed to making all Lexus models electric in the U.S., China and Europe by 2030.
“[It] It’s going to be difficult, but it’s something we have to do,” Toyoda said in December 2021, the WSJ reported.
