Index Investing News
Friday, May 30, 2025
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Index Investing News
No Result
View All Result

The world’s top carmaker got mocked for rejecting EV hype—not anymore. ‘I want to congratulate Toyota’

by Index Investing News
February 9, 2024
in Financial
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Home Financial
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Toyota was skeptical of electric vehicles back when that wasn’t fashionable. In October 2022, for instance, then-CEO Akio Toyoda said that EVs “are just going to take longer than the media would like us to believe.” As other big carmakers made bold proclamations about when they go all electric, Toyota refused to play along, vowing instead to keep offering a wide array of powertrains and letting consumers decide for themselves.

“That’s our strategy and we’re sticking to it,” he insisted, vowing to focus on hybrids, which this carmaker pioneered with the release of the Prius in Japan in 1997, and three years later in the U.S. Since then, the Japanese giant has steadily increased its hybrid offerings.

Toyota’s stance was not a good look at the time—and it didn’t go over well.

“Toyota is not correctly responding to calls from the market to take a lead in electric vehicles,” Satoru Aoyama, senior director at Fitch Ratings, told the Financial Times, warning the carmaker could “lose investor confidence.”

Environmentalists were none too pleased, either. “The fact is: a hybrid today is not green technology,” blogged Katherine Garcia, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation For All campaign. “The Prius hybrid runs on a pollution-emitting combustion engine found in any gas-powered car…Rather than invest in EVs, though, Toyota is putting corporate profits and the status quo over tackling the climate crisis.”

The pressure grew so intense that, partly in response, Toyoda—the grandson of the company’s founder—left his CEO role to become chairman.

“Because of my strong passion for cars, I am an old-fashioned person in regards to digitalization, electric vehicles, and connected cars. I cannot go beyond being a car guy, and that is my limitation,” he said. “The new team can do what I can’t do.”

‘A strength of Toyota’

But it turns out he was onto something. This week, the carmaker raised its operating profit guidance by nearly 9% for the fiscal year ending March 31, crediting higher sales of hybrid vehicles across all its major markets.

That contrasted with EV leader Tesla, which despite repeated price cuts to boost demand warned that this year’s sales growth might be “notably lower” than last year’s. Meanwhile there are increasing signs from carmakers and markets around the world that sales growth for electric vehicles is slowing.

With hybrids alone, Toyota sold roughly 3.4 million vehicles globally last year, up from 2.6 million in 2022. Tesla, by contrast, sold 1.8 million vehicles, all of them electric. In total, Toyota sold 11.2 million vehicles, allowing it to retain its crown as the top-selling carmaker for the fourth consecutive year.

EV sales in the U.S. grew an impressive 51% last year, according to Edmunds, but hybrid sales did even better, jumping 63%.

“We think the market is now rethinking the potential of hybrid products, which are a strength of Toyota,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a recent research note.

“I want to congratulate Toyota, which was attacked for saying it was never going to go all-electric and it was going to continue to make the cars people wanted to buy,” said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment at the Heritage Foundation, on Fox Business.

For drivers, hybrids have the feel-good factor of burning less fossil fuel than normal cars—friendlier on the environment and the pocketbook—without the range anxiety, charging issues, and resale value of EVs. (Hybrids maximize efficiency by alternating from gas to battery power.) It also helps that in the U.S. hybrids are priced closer to regular vehicles than are EVs.

Of course, Toyota could end up on the wrong side of history if consumers shift to EVs faster than it expects. While Toyota does offer some EV models—and has more in the works—they still account for just a sliver of its overall sales.

In 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk dismissed hybrids as a phase, saying that it’s “time to move on” from them. The last laugh might belong to him and, perhaps, Chinese rivals like Warren Buffett–backed BYD, which recently passed Tesla in global EV sales.

“If consumer adoption of BEVs shifts again and speeds up, Toyota may not be fully ready,” Stephanie Brinley, an associate director at S&P Global Mobility, told Reuters.

But none of that stopped Toyota’s chairman from doubling down on his once-unpopular stance last month, as he estimated that EVs will peak at 30% and share the roads with hybrid, traditional, and hydrogen-powered cars.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



Source link

Tags: anymorecarmakercongratulatehypenotmockedrejectingTopToyotaWorlds
ShareTweetShareShare
Previous Post

Bakkt says it is ‘confident’ about continuing operations after disclosing liquidity issues in SEC filing

Next Post

Liverpool affected most by VAR mistakes; Arsenal & Man Utd among top beneficiaries

Related Posts

’50 tonnes per day’: Fishermen report an enormous soar in Octopus inhabitants alongside English Channel indicating a stress in deep ocean

’50 tonnes per day’: Fishermen report an enormous soar in Octopus inhabitants alongside English Channel indicating a stress in deep ocean

by Index Investing News
May 30, 2025
0

Unusually heat sea temperatures within the North Atlantic are disrupting marine ecosystems, resulting in a pointy rise in octopus catches...

NetEase shares close to report excessive as China’s Gen Z embraces video games

NetEase shares close to report excessive as China’s Gen Z embraces video games

by Index Investing News
May 30, 2025
0

NetEase Inc. shares are closing in on their first new all-time excessive in over 4 years, as a wave of...

Adani Ports’ Rs 5,000 Crore Bond Sale Attracts LIC’s Curiosity, Say Reviews

Adani Ports’ Rs 5,000 Crore Bond Sale Attracts LIC’s Curiosity, Say Reviews

by Index Investing News
May 29, 2025
0

Adani Ports & Particular Financial Zone Ltd.'s document rupee bond supply value Rs 5,000 crore noticed curiosity from Life Insurance...

India set to turn out to be third largest economic system by 2027: Piyush Goyal

India set to turn out to be third largest economic system by 2027: Piyush Goyal

by Index Investing News
May 29, 2025
0

Union Minister of Commerce and Trade Piyush Goyal mentioned on Thursday that India is on monitor to turn out to...

FSSAI asks meals corporations to take away “100 per cent” declare from labels

FSSAI asks meals corporations to take away “100 per cent” declare from labels

by Index Investing News
May 29, 2025
0

The Meals Security and Requirements Authority of India (FSSAI) has requested meals and beverage corporations to take away the time...

Next Post
Liverpool affected most by VAR mistakes; Arsenal & Man Utd among top beneficiaries

Liverpool affected most by VAR mistakes; Arsenal & Man Utd among top beneficiaries

Updated standings after Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates, Match 26

Updated standings after Gulf Giants vs MI Emirates, Match 26

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED

What Happened To The Truth Movement? – FREEDOMBUNKER

What Happened To The Truth Movement? – FREEDOMBUNKER

January 21, 2024
New capital requirements for Swiss banks will slow growth at UBS, says finance minister By Reuters

New capital requirements for Swiss banks will slow growth at UBS, says finance minister By Reuters

April 13, 2024
Ralf Rangnick doubles down on ‘open coronary heart operation’ criticism of Man Utd

Ralf Rangnick doubles down on ‘open coronary heart operation’ criticism of Man Utd

September 9, 2024
Can You Spot The Fed’s Coverage Errors? The Fed And Fannie/Freddie’s Demise After 3 Fed Coverage Errors (We Are Now In PE5!) – Funding Watch

Can You Spot The Fed’s Coverage Errors? The Fed And Fannie/Freddie’s Demise After 3 Fed Coverage Errors (We Are Now In PE5!) – Funding Watch

March 19, 2022
How to Profit From Bitcoin’s 4th Halving

How to Profit From Bitcoin’s 4th Halving

March 20, 2024
Day after meeting, Blinken and Lavrov exchange diplomatic swipes By Reuters

Day after meeting, Blinken and Lavrov exchange diplomatic swipes By Reuters

March 3, 2023

Grizzlies’ Ja Morant allegedly punched a 17-year-old

January 4, 2023
Crypto Stocks Suffer Due to Low BTC Prices

Crypto Stocks Suffer Due to Low BTC Prices

August 2, 2023
Index Investing News

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Investing, World News, Stocks, Market Analysis, Business & Financial News, and more from the top trusted sources.

  • 1717575246.7
  • Browse the latest news about investing and more
  • Contact us
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • xtw18387b488

Copyright © 2022 - Index Investing News.
Index Investing News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion

Copyright © 2022 - Index Investing News.
Index Investing News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In