By Tesla standards
As the demand for all-electric cars is growing much faster than the brand expected, Toyota is rethinking its electrification strategy. Part of the brand’s EV plans are therefore at a standstill, Reuters writes.
Toyota’s product planners hadn’t expected the demand for BEVs to be this high. They also expect significant growth in the coming years. This is partly based on the expectations of other brands: they think that by 2030 about 50 percent of their sales will consist of EVs. Toyota is therefore working hard behind the scenes to adjust its ambitions in the short term, Reuters writes based on conversations with insiders who prefer to remain anonymous. The choice is as follows: either the e-TNGA platform must be greatly improved, or dedicated EV platform.
The current e-TNGA platform – on which the Toyota bZ4x is based – allows Toyota to build BEVs on the same production line as, for example, HEVs are built. Because the demand for EVs is growing so much faster than expected, that is not necessarily a good thing. An entirely new platform, which rolls off ‘own’ production lines, is one of the possibilities. This would enable much more efficient production, which is desirable in view of the anticipated large numbers. According to the Toyota insiders, especially Tesla has set new standards in this regard. The costs per EV produced by the Americans are a lot lower than Toyota can achieve with its e-TNGA platform. The production speed can also be increased when using an EV-specific platform.
Possibly different model strategy
Toyota is therefore trying to make a decision in the short term. If the brand follows a different course and considers a completely new platform necessary, this could mean that the plans that Toyota announced at the end of last year will partly be cancelled. According to the sources spoke to Reuters, some of the ongoing projects have come to a standstill as a result of the doubts. For example, the development of the Toyota Compact Cruiser and the electric Toyota Crown would be on hold.
The plans presented by the Japanese in 2021, for which Toyota is investing tens of billions, stated that thirty new electric models would be unveiled until 2030. Some of them may now be suspended. It remains to be seen to what extent Toyota will actually change its strategy, and what consequences this will have for the upcoming model range of Toyota Netherlands: the latter cannot provide any clarity at the time of writing. The brand has not officially released anything about it yet.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl