Toyota Isn't Sold on the Tesla Hype
Toyota loves hybrids and plug-in hybrids, but the Japanese automaker still isn’t convinced electric vehicles are the way of the future.
While some automakers are investing heavily in fully electric vehicles, Toyota remains hesitant on mass producing EVs in the near future. Speaking to German publication Der Spiegel, Toyota’s Takeshi Uchiyamada said, “Tesla is not our enemy and not our role model. I think it’s the German manufacturers that rather see Tesla as a competitor.”
That makes sense since Toyota doesn’t have any fully electric vehicles in its portfolio now that the Toyota RAV4 EV is no longer produced. And even then, the RAV4 EV used an electric powertrain from Tesla.
SEE ALSO: Toyota has no Plans of Sharing its Game-Changing EV Batteries
But that doesn’t mean Toyota is giving up on electric vehicles. It has formed a relationship with Mazda on electric vehicle development and is currently working on solid-state batteries that will store more power and can be recharged more quickly than current lithium-ion units.
Uchiyamada, who is known as the father of the Prius, did acknowledge the solid-state batteries and their development but confirmed it will still take time. “We expect mass production in four to five years.”
Meanwhile, Tesla is continuing to burn through cash as it ramps up production for the Model 3. Bloomberg reports Tesla is going through nearly half-a-million dollars every hour or about $8,000 a minute. If it continues at that pace, the American automaker will run out of cash by August 6.
[Source: The Drive]
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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Toyotas vehicles such as the cheap prius prime has the slowest acceleration compared to other cars just to attain higher efficiency. The motors are weaker because theyre cheaper. Their EV batteries are air cooled as it is way cheaper and so they forego the active liquid cooled thermal battery management system used by GM and Tesla. They went on the cheap to undercut and capitalize on the brand name. The prius prime have no soul as a car aside from looking so fugly.
Whoever handles Elon Musks public relations deserves a medal. The slippery snake oil salesman and rent-seeker extraordinaire has been down to South Australia now reduced, pretty much, to a third world state under its disastrous left-wing administration and conned the hapless locals out of $50 million to build them an all-but-useless giant battery to make up for the energy they have lost by blowing up their coal-fired power station and relying on wind power instead. And how are the lickspittle media reporting this outrageous scam?