Toyota says it’s not afraid of Tesla
This week, RPM was invited to a private online event where Toyota has put its future models on the table, but above all its plans to reduce the ecological footprint of its fleet of vehicles. She also took the opportunity to confirm that her first electric SUV, the bZ4X, will arrive on our market next year. However, we had questions.
Toyota has not yet shared the technical and range data, nor the price for its first electric SUV, the bZ4X, but it still allowed us to discuss its electrified future in depth.
If there is one manufacturer that major car brands do not like to mention during such presentations, it is Tesla. Most even act as if the Californian manufacturer does not exist.
Toyota has, however, been open to talking about it. When asked if she saw Tesla as a threat in the electrification market, and if the automaker was ready to face it, Stephen Beatty, the vice president of Toyota Canada, quickly took the microphone and told us about it. gave a rather interesting answer.
He first confessed that Tesla deserves all the success she is currently experiencing and even took his hat off to him for disrupting the auto industry, while also spurring the evolution of the electric car. He also took the time to point out that if a manufacturer wants to survive in a future where oil will no longer be a priority, it must be able to offer several forms of renewable energy. So no, he admitted that Toyota has no fear of Elon Musk’s business.
“Electric (battery-powered), like what Tesla is proposing, is a path that may work for a carbon neutral future, but sooner or later battery production will lead us to other resource issues. In addition, in order to meet all needs and all budgets, automobile manufacturers must continue to develop new technologies in order to diversify the supply of the energies used ”- he said.
He then took the time to stress the importance of the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, such as the Mirai, because for some regions of the planet, obtaining clean, renewable and, above all, affordable electricity – like what we have here in Quebec – is not always realistic.
“It is these limitations in certain regions that are currently holding back sales of electric vehicles, hence the reason for our obsession with hybrid and hydrogen. In my opinion the next step will be synthetic fuels. It is they, in partnership with other technologies, that will allow us to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality. ”
This is all very interesting, but for the time being Toyota will have no choice but to face the harsh reality that Tesla sells, on average, 10,000 Model Ys per month in Canada and the United States. To dethrone it, the bZ4X will have no choice but to offer any form of incentive to encourage consumers to buy a Toyota instead of a Tesla. Good autonomy, a well-assembled product and aggressive prices will be the only means of achieving this.
