Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor — the second-most valuable and the second-most prolific car maker in the world — has some words of caution for the fledgling electric-vehicle industry: EVs are over-hyped. Toyota President Akio Toyoda made his downbeat comments at a Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association news conference on Wednesday.
“When politicians are out there saying, ‘Let’s get rid of all cars using gasoline,’ do they understand this?” Toyoda was quoted as saying in an article in The Wall Street Journal. The problem appears to be with the pace of change. He is worried that politicians setting EV policy don’t understand the numbers.
By 2035, China, for instance, doesn’t want there to be any gas-only vehicles sold in the country. The goal is for 50% of new-car sales to be zero emission—either fuel-cell or battery electric—and 50% battery hybrid vehicles. Japanese politicians, some European countries, and some US states, led by California, have proposed similar goals.
To meet that goal in Japan would require hundreds of billions of dollars in new infrastructure spending, according to Toyoda. Charging stations would need to become ubiquitous. What’s more, utilities would have to generate more electricity to support the transportation sectors, as well as keeping the lights on in businesses and homes. The auto industry would also have to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in new manufacturing equipment and battery capacity.