Toyota’s President Says Electric Vehicles Are Overhyped

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal detailed the skepticism of Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, toward electric vehicles. This is a big deal because Toyota was the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in terms of vehicle sales in the United States during 2019. 

Mr. Toyoda criticized what he described as “excessive hype over electric vehicles, saying advocates failed to consider the carbon emitted by generating electricity and the costs of an EV transition.” He continued: 

“Japan would run out of electricity in the summer if all cars were running on electric power. The infrastructure needed to support a fleet consisting entirely of EVs would cost Japan between ¥14 trillion and ¥37 trillion, the equivalent of $135 billion to $358 billion, he said. 

“When politicians are out there saying, ‘Let’s get rid of all cars using gasoline,’ do they understand this?” Mr. Toyoda said Thursday at a year-end news conference in his capacity as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.”

GRTWT.