Toyota claims that pure electric vehicles are not suitable for Australia, Tesla and others counterattack: those who fall behind do not admit their mistakes

On October 31st, Toyota executives recently expressed opposition to pure electric vehicles in Australia, which was criticized by electric vehicle industry leaders such as Tesla. The Australian Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) stated that Toyota holds this view because they are hesitant in the pure electric vehicle field and have lost market share

On October 31st, Toyota executives recently expressed opposition to pure electric vehicles in Australia, which was criticized by electric vehicle industry leaders such as Tesla. The Australian Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) stated that Toyota holds this view because they are hesitant in the pure electric vehicle field and have lost market share.

From the beginning, Toyota clearly opposed fully developing pure electric vehicles. Under the leadership of Akio Toyoda, the company has been lobbying not to introduce stricter emission regulations.

Despite Toyoda's resignation in January this year, Toyota still opposes pure electric vehicles. Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia's vice president for sales, marketing, and franchise operations, said last week: "Currently, hybrid electric vehicles are more suitable for most consumers than pure electric vehicles

Hanley's view is still against pure electric vehicles, but rather a hybrid vehicle that promotes Toyota's long-term dominance in the market.

He added, "Pure electric vehicles currently make sense in places like Norway, as most of the local energy is renewable and has higher income, but Australia is not Europe

Last year, Toyota accounted for nearly 90% of hybrid vehicle sales in Australia, while pure electric vehicle sales in Australia gradually increased.

Despite the slow start of pure electric vehicles, which accounted for only 3.8% of local car sales in 2022, more and more Australians are starting to purchase electric vehicles.

It is expected that by 2023, the sales of electric vehicles in Australia will increase by 80%, currently accounting for 7.3% of the entire new car market. Due to the affordable prices of electric vehicles such as BYD Atto3 and Tesla ModelY, over 65000 Australians have purchased pure electric vehicles.

Rohan Patel, vice president of Tesla's public policy, responded to Toyota executives' comments on social media, saying "Mr. Hanley is obviously not an expert on the Australian power grid or transformation speed."

When discussing Australia's transition to renewable energy, Patel stated that thousands of Australians are already using solar energy, a 100% clean electricity source, to drive electric vehicles.

In 2009, renewable energy accounted for 8% of Australia's electricity consumption, and now it has increased to about 32%. Australia plans to increase the proportion of renewable energy to 82% by 2030.

Although Australia relies on imports for about 90% of its oil, it is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy producers.

Patel stated that for Australia, it is natural to switch to electric vehicles faster. He added that they are "too smart to be deceived by those cynical public relations, which are just to slow down the transformation speed of sustainable transportation and help sell gasoline vehicles in the short term

Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Australian Electric Vehicle Council, also supports Patel's views. He stated that these remarks "go against the best interests of Australian consumers who want to save on fuel costs and the Australian economy

Jafari explained that Toyota's Hanley is "belittling the battery industry, and we are the ones who can supply electric vehicle batteries globally

He added, "This is their attempt to defend their failures, not admit their mistakes. They are moving too slowly in the electric vehicle market

Although Toyota remains the largest automaker in Australia, its market advantage is declining. This year, Toyota's car sales in Australia decreased by 21000 units, while Tesla's sales increased by nearly 24000 units.

As of September this year, the Tesla ModelY has become the best-selling SUV in Australia, surpassing the Toyota RAV4, Ford Ranger, and Mazda CX-5.

As Patel and Jafari have pointed out, Australia has a huge opportunity to take advantage of the growing demand for electric vehicles.

Australia is one of the world's largest lithium reserves, accounting for over 50% of global supply.

Toyota's viewpoint is not new. Hanley stated that he will "lobby for a more relaxed standard time frame to reduce pollution without narrowing the range of available vehicles" earlier this year.

For a long time, Toyota has been lobbying against promoting pure electric vehicles, as this is not Toyota's strength.

Toyota has always relied on hybrid technology and neglected its early investments in pure electric vehicles. The company's first pure electric vehicle, bZ4XSUV, has several issues that have led to slow progress in its launch.

Afterwards, Toyota announced a series of innovative measures, including new battery technology, production methods, and designs, to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of future electric vehicle models.

As of September this year, Toyota had sold 76457 pure electric vehicles, but only accounted for 1% of total sales. (Chen Chen)