Toyota has long said more hybrids over EVs is better solution
Toyota expects 80,000 electrified vehicle sales this year
Last night, Toyota Canada’s President and CEO spoke about the federal government’s zero-emissions vehicle plans. The exec disagreed with the plans, saying that Toyota wanted to work on different ways to tackle the subject it thinks would reduce real emissions more quickly.
Toyota has long been a proponent of hybrids over EVs to reduce vehicle emissions. The reasoning is that there is only so much of the material used in battery packs to go around and that while hybrids have more emissions than an EV, the ability to build more of them leads to a lower total fleet carbon footprint. Pricing is also an issue. Hutchinson said the price per ton for lithium has gone up 14-fold since 2020.
“Toyota’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon is longstanding and well documented, said President and CEO Larry Hutchinson “We’re not only on record, but our actions … from our manufacturing operations to our newest facilities to the mix of products and technologies we offer … have demonstrated our commitment.”
He added that 40 percent of the brand’s sales in Canada this year will be electrified, either hybrid or plug-in hybrid. That should add up to around 80,000 vehicles in Canada this year.
“We’re not waiting because we believe climate change is urgent and complex, and requires meaningful action,” he said. “And, while we agree our carbon reduction strategy must include battery electric vehicles, we also know it can’t be limited to them.”
Hutchinson said that by 2025, nearly every vehicle from the largest builder of cars in Canada would be electrified. He also took a shot at the likes of GM by saying that Toyota’s electrified models would be offered “in volume.” EVs from many automakers are only offered in extremely small numbers.
The automaker has shown that Canada’s proposed ZEV rules could see 60 percent ZEV sales but as little as a 48 percent reduction in carbon emissions. Toyota claims its own proposal would allow for either 60 percent ZEVs or a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions without a specified tech mix by letting each automaker find its own path and solutions.
