Toyota Chairman and ex-Chief Akio Toyoda took the opportunity to remind the automotive industry about his stance against the total shift to electric vehicles amid the recent declining sales, especially in the US market.
“People are finally seeing reality.”
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda (via The Wall Street Journal)
The Toyota Chairman has long been advocating for hybrid electric vehicles and other technologies rather than focusing on battery-powered models. Chairman Toyoda reiterated this argument to the media during the Japan Mobility Show.
“There are many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality.”
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda
Waning demand
Numerous automakers have been struggling with declining electric vehicle sales in recent quarters. In effect, even established brands like Tesla, Ford, and GM have already warned about waning customer demand for their all-electric models.
Notably, EVs’ high prices remain one of the major barriers to the widespread adoption of e-mobility.
In addition, increasing interest rates further boost EV models’ prices, making them more inaccessible to average buyers.
In effect, EV inventories continued to grow at record levels despite major model discounts.
In contrast, Toyota previously stated that the market for HEV models is “smoking hot,” prompting the company to produce as many units as possible.
According to the report, the Japanese automaker only had just over a week’s worth of stock for its popular Prius HEV. Meanwhile, its all-electric SUV had more than two months of supply in inventory.
“I have continued to say what I see as reality… if regulations are created based on ideals, it is regular users who are the ones who suffer.”
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda
Impact on Tesla
CarScoops reported that global EV sales surged 63% in 2022 but slowed to 49% this year. This sudden decline in customer demand significantly affected the US market.
In fact, American legacy automakers GM and Ford have announced plans to slow down their EV production.
Surprisingly, industry leader Tesla also took a hit in the third quarter of the year, causing Chief Elon Musk to lose $30 billion from his net worth.
According to Fortune, Tesla’s Q3 2023 results recorded its lowest quarterly Earnings Per Share (EPS), which is 10% below analyst forecasts. It marks the Musk-led company’s lowest EPS result in two years.
In effect, TSLA shares declined more than 17%, while its market capitalization dropped by $138 billion in just more than two trading days.
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Despite Chairman Toyoda’s strong resistance to electric vehicles, the new CEO has started to accelerate Toyota’s electrification efforts. In fact, it is getting close to starting the mass production of solid-state batteries for its next-gen EVs. It has also decided to incorporate Tesla’s NACS port into its new Toyota and Lexus models by 2025.
