Toyota: EVs are only ‘for the few’

Toyota Australia has stated that electric vehicles are less suitable for Aussies than hybrids – on the same day that its first EV made its world debut.

Speaking ahead of today’s global reveal of the updated 2024 Toyota bZ4X – the first Toyota EV to be sold Down Under, from February next year – Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley said EVs currently don’t “make sense” in countries like Australia, where the majority of electricity continues to come from coal-fired power stations.

Toyota has been the market leader for hybrid vehicles in Australia for more than two decades, during which time 350,000 have been sold here, and petrol-electric cars now comprise more than a third of thew Japanese brand’s sales.

But the Australian auto market leader has been criticised for being late to EVs, sales of which have increased by over 80 per cent so far this year to more than 65,000 vehicles, thanks to several new and relatively affordable models from China, accounting for 7.3 per cent of Australian new-vehicle sales.

The heavy EV lifting has been done by Tesla, whose Model Y mid-size electric SUV – a direct rival for the bZ4X – is the nation’s top-selling SUV to September this year, outselling even the RAV4 (in part due to supply constraints, leading to two-year wait times for the RAV4 Hybrid).

Unsurprisingly, Hanley has long been vocal about Toyota’s strength in hybrids, which he now says remain a better choice than EVs in Australia, both in terms of driver convenience and their contribution to CO2 reduction, but stresses that Toyota Australia will be ready for widespread EV adoption when the market is.

“Right now, hybrid-electric vehicles are a better fit than BEVs for most consumers,” he told Australian journalists ahead of the bZ4X’s debut at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo today,

“They are more affordable and don’t require charging infrastructure. They’re cars for the masses, not for the few.

“But we are not saying that hybrids should be used instead of BEVs everywhere and forever.

“Our parent company is accelerating its advances in electric vehicle technology.

“We have established a new in-house development centre, the BEV Factory.

“In 2026, we are planning to have a completely new BEV platform. By then we’ll also have 10 new BEV models globally.”

Among them will be seven new bZ (‘beyond Zero’) models by 2025, while Toyota Australia has committed to releasing at least three EVs by 2026.

The first will be the bZ4X, which has two sister models including the already-released Lexus RZ and the upcoming Subaru Solterra, and will be competitively priced to compete with the Model Y on price.

Toyota will also use quality, battery longevity and resale value as key selling points for its first EV.

Beyond the bZ4X, Toyota is expected to release a smaller electric SUV, a larger electric SUV and two electric utes including a compact car-based dual-cab and a production version of the HiLux Revo BEV Concept.

Further afield, Toyota says it will introduce a range of next-generation EVs in 2026, offering a range of up to 1000km perhaps courtesy of solid-state batteries, and plans to sell 3.5 million EVs annually by 2030.

“Rest assured, our Australian customers will be offered Toyota BEVs in multiple segments in the coming years,” said Hanley.

“For us, it has never been a question of if we should launch BEVs, but only when.

“Now is absolutely the right time – and it all starts with the bZ4X with its high-quality battery.

“The bZ4X not just an electric car, it’s the foundation for the next phase of our electrification strategy.”

Nevertheless, Toyota Australia’s sales chief said the high-volume adoption of hybrid vehicles – widely regarded as a transitional powertrain technology between pure combustion and all-electric power – will have a bigger impact on overall carbon reduction than EVs in the short-term.

“I want to remind you that Toyota strongly supports electrification of our fleet,” said Hanley.

“We know BEVs like the bZ4X will play an increasingly important role in cutting carbon.

“But we also know it will take many years before we have enough battery material and renewable energy to support mass adoption of BEVs.

“While we work to address those challenges, Toyota’s global approach is that there are other workable paths that ensure no-one is left behind on the journey to decarbonisation.

“We will therefore maintain our global strategy of deploying as many technologies as possible, blending BEVs with hybrids and other technologies, including fuel cells, hydrogen injection and carbon-neutral fuels.

“This diversity of technologies is Toyota’s strength.

“BEVs make sense right now in places like Norway where most energy is renewable and incomes are high.

“But Australia is not Europe.”

Hanley emphasised that in most Australian states – and in many other countries including China – power generation is still largely dependent on fossil fuels.

And he cited federal energy department figures showing that fossil fuels contributed 68 per cent of total electricity generation in Australia last year.

“That’s why Toyota adopts a different approach in each country and region in which we operate – recognising and respecting diverse cultures, lifestyles, roads, vehicle choices, ways of using cars – and access to various energy sources,” he said.

“In countries like Australia, our data suggests that hybrids can have a greater impact than full electrification in getting carbon off the road.

“Our scientists at the Toyota Research Institute call it the 1-6-90 rule. They have calculated that the raw materials required to produce one long-range BEV could instead be used to make six PHEVs or 90 HEVs.

“This enables us to reduce the tailpipe emissions of 90 cars, rather than focusing on a single car that is powered, in many cases, by electricity generated from coal – not to mention being impractical for the vast majority of Australian motorists.”

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