A prominent Toyota representative recently made the comment that the main reason that Toyota isn’t developing any wide-release battery-electric vehicles is that no one wants one. And that’s why the company is pushing ahead with its hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Wait, what?
So, no one is asking for a Toyota BEV? And are there really that many people asking for a hydrogen fuel cell sedan? Lmao. Don’t know that I believe that.
There must be more to this than what’s being put out there publicly by the company’s reps, but here are the exact comments (via the Los Angeles Times) from Toyota’s national manager of advanced technologies, Craig Scott (make of them what you will):
“Toyota actually favors fuel cells over other zero-emission vehicles, like pure battery electric vehicles. We would like to be still selling cars when there’s no more gas. And no one is coming to our door asking us to build a new electric car.”
I’m note even sure what to say to that. I have a hard time believing that there are many people calling Toyota up and asking the company to develop hydrogen cars. Ignoring that, the technology requires a great deal of expensive infrastructure, amongst other things — it seems a strange bet for the prominent automaker to make. Perhaps there are simply prominent members/financiers at Toyota who have a vested interest in seeing hydrogen cars make it to the market?
But it’s well known that hydrogen cars are far behind electric cars in their development and growth, and are absurdly expensive while electric cars are now often competitive with gasoline cars. Also, some of us are now well aware that hydrogen cars aren’t actually green at all.
Toyota’s was a clear leader in the conventional hybrid car market. Logic has it that leaders in one technological generation tend to be laggards in the next, as they try to hold onto their advantage in the industry they are thriving in. Could that be the case with Toyota?
Image Credit: Toyota
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