In April, Toyota unveiled the bZ4X SUV concept, paving the way for Toyota’s first battery electric vehicle in years, set to hit the market in 2022.
Roughly the size of the Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid, the bZ4X will be one of seven electric vehicles arriving as part of the bZ (Beyond Zero) electric vehicle sub-brand, with all of them being part of approximately 70 electrified models (including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell models) globally by 2025.
On paper, that plan sounds optimistic. However, a month later, when Toyota presented some numbers surrounding the plan, the strategy suddenly seemed rather timid. By 2030, it stated, 70% of its vehicles will be electrified in some form, while battery electric models will represent only 15% of the lineup.
This leaves 30% of the lineup, in nine years, still without any form of electrification. Despite having an electrified version of each model in the lineup, 85% of the lineup will still feature a fuel tank, an engine, and an exhaust pipe.
For a reality check, that sounds decidedly less optimistic than Ford, which last week said it expects battery electric vehicles to represent 40% of its global sales by 2030.
In a press session at Toyota’s headquarters in Plano, Texas, earlier this week, Toyota Motor North America Executive Vice President Bob Carter sought to make things clear. “We are not anti-EV,” proclaimed Carter. “In fact, we are committed to deploying more EVs.”
“The customer is the boss; they will be the ones deciding which technology suits their needs best,” he said. “We are well-positioned with our portfolio approach to go where the market takes us and follow our consumers’ lead.”
This sounds like a pledge that Toyota will build more than 15% of the market if electric vehicle adoption happens more quickly.
“For the industry to reach a fully electric future, combined efforts from carmakers, government, dealers, suppliers, and, of course, most importantly, consumers will be needed,” added Carter.
In 2019, Toyota insisted that buyers at its U.S. dealerships weren’t asking for electric vehicles. As an executive stated in a media Q&A session, essentially, there was “no demand” for them.
Even if that were true, were customers asking for a hybrid in 2000? With the Prius, Toyota helped create and dominate a segment for which demand didn’t exist entirely. With groundbreaking technology and phenomenal fuel efficiency, it created and fueled that demand, with a durability hallmark exclusive to Toyota. Now, it’s hard to believe the company can’t do the same, faster than other brands, with electric vehicles.
