54 organizations demand Toyota shift to EVs globally as new CEO steps in
A coalition of 54 consumer and environmental groups from 26 countries have written a letter to Toyota asking that the company phase-out fossil fuels globally by 2035, and in Europe by 2030. The letter is timed to coincide with the start of new CEO Koji Sato’s tenure at the company on April 1.
Toyota occupies a commanding role in global auto manufacturing. It is not only the largest company in Japan by a longshot, but also often the world’s number-one automaker (sometimes swapping this title with VW). As a result, the company’s actions can set the tone for the auto industry.
It also carries the respect of manufacturing companies outside of the auto industry, with its famous “kaizen” production methods. Kaizen’s focus on efficiency has influenced manufacturing worldwide – somewhat to its recent detriment, as just-in-time production proved disastrous during COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.
But under CEO Akio Toyoda, Toyota has lagged significantly on electric cars. The company has taken a long time to bring any EV to market, and its first full EV, the bZ4X, didn’t have the best launch. While those kinks have now been worked out after a lengthy recall, the company still sells EVs in very low volume in a world where EVs are becoming more and more front and center in virtually every automaker’s lineup.
Beyond that, and even worse, Toyota has actively worked against electric cars over the last decade. The company has repeatedly spread EV misinformation, including in advertisements and in Japanese schools. It was named one of the most obstructive entities on Earth regarding climate policy, it refused to join international agreements for EV adoption (even though that agreement’s 2040 goal was weak to begin with), and it has joined with anti-environment forces in trying to stop clean air legislation.
As a leader in Japanese industry, Toyota’s (and the rest of the Japanese auto industry’s) intransigence on EVs has led some to warn that Japan’s economy could decline significantly if it doesn’t shape up.
But all of this happened under Akio Toyoda. And Toyota’s inability – or, perhaps more accurately, lack of desire – to adapt to the EV landscape seems to have been a factor in his stepping down. Toyoda seemed to acknowledge that he was unable to lead the company through the level of change needed to adapt for the future, stating:
To advance change at Toyota, I have reached the decision that it is best for me to support a new president while I become chairman.
The incoming CEO, Koji Sato, was previously brand chief at Lexus, where he led Lexus’s electrification efforts. Toyoda picked Sato for his ability to “promote change in an era in which the future is unpredictable.” He begins his tenure on April 1, and has already stated that he wants to get serious about EVs.
Open letter demands change at Toyota – drop fossils by 2035 globally, 2030 in US/EU
To coincide with the beginning of Sato’s tenure, 54 consumer and environmental groups representing millions of supporters in 26 countries have combined to ask that the new CEO, Mr. Sato, “commit to phase out all internal combustion engine vehicles in the U.S. and Europe by 2030, and globally by 2035.” The groups also demand that Toyota end its “anti-climate lobbying” immediately.
The effort was spearheaded by Public Citizen, a US-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group. Other notable signatories include the Japanese chapters of Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, Electric Vehicle Association, GreenLatinos, Coltura, EarthJustice, and the Sierra Club. The letter lists the many other groups involved from around the world.
The letter does not mince words. While it does “ask” Toyota for these commitments, it also points out “decades of harm and deceit caused by Toyota” with respect to electric vehicle adoption, including cheating on emissions tests, which led to a record $180 million fine.
The letter points to research that fossil fuels are responsible for millions of deaths per year, accounting for one in five deaths around the globe. Personal vehicles are a primary contributor to this fossil fuel pollution, which harms human health everywhere.
While Toyota has a plan to increase electrification of its fleet, the company currently says that it plans to sell 3.5 million electric cars in 2030. This is only about a third of the company’s current yearly sales, though a huge increase from the 16,000 vehicles, or .2% of its global sales, from its last fiscal year. By comparison, all-electric competitor Tesla sold 1.3 million EVs last year. Even stodgy old GM targets 40-50% electric sales by 2030.
The letter closes by recognizing incoming CEO Sato’s actions to lead Lexus toward electrification, and recent pledges to lead the industry, but requests several specific commitments:
- phase out internal combustion engine vehicles (including hybrids and plug-in hybrids) in the U.S. and Europe by 2030 and globally by 2035;
- align advocacy and lobbying with the goal of phasing out internal combustion engines, and be a voice for 100% renewable energy economy-wide;
- require 100% renewable energy use throughout your supply chains globally by 2035;
- by 2025, sign a procurement commitment for fossil-free primary steel with a steel producer and additionally commit to source 100% fossil-free steel by 2050;
- require responsible sourcing of your battery minerals, and develop battery design that allows for easy reuse and recycling of minerals;
- establish a clear commitment to Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent, which should be extended to your suppliers.
Electrek’s Take
As I’ve said many times with respect to EV timelines: “Why not sooner?” But this time, this letter’s timeline is one I can actually agree with.
While many regions are looking to put requirements in place for full electrification by 2035, I don’t think this is early enough. Several automakers agree, and are planning to go full electric well before 2035. Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Bentley, Cadillac, Mercedes, Mini, Rolls-Royce, and Volvo have all committed to 2030, so it’s not like this timeline is impossible.
Oh, and of course, there’s one more brand with an all-electric 2030 target: Lexus. Which made the announcement while it was being led by none other than the incoming CEO of Toyota, Koji Sato.
All these automakers are smart to be ready for electrification before regulatory requirements come in. Electrification is happening fast, and once critical mass is reached, the shift can happen quickly. Norway was targeting 2025 for an end to gas car sales, but they’re already at close to zero a few years early.
Besides, electrification has taken several companies by surprise already. It takes time to build battery factories, distribution networks, charging networks, train (and convince) car dealers in how to sell EVs, and so on. Companies could have started on these efforts long ago, but many companies are only starting to build battery factories now. This has led companies with less foresight to be more affected by supply constraints. For one example, just this week, Ford CEO Jim Farley said “batteries are the constraint.”
So a faster route to electrification is not just smarter for every living being on Earth, but smarter for the company. Toyota is very late to the game already, and will have to work extremely hard to catch up. But if the new CEO knows what’s good for Toyota as a businessman, and what’s good for humanity as a human, he’ll put in that effort and realign his company to act responsibly, both for the world and for his shareholders.
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After canceling the upcoming Airflow electric crossover and killing its popular 300 sedan, Chrysler only has one nameplate left in its lineup – but it doesn’t have to be this way. Stellantis already builds a full-size electric sedan that could prove to be a badge-engineered winner.
And, yes – it really should have been the new Chrysler 300. Meet the DS No. 8.
Stellantis’ US brands have had a tough go of the last few years, with Jeep trying and failing to bait luxury buyers willing to part with six-figure sums for a new Grand Wagoneer or generate excitement for the new electric Wagoneer S. The Dodge brand is doing to better with the Charger, a confusing electric muscle car that has, so far, failed to appeal to enthusiasts of any kind. Meanwhile, the lone Chrysler left standing, the Pacifica minivan, made its debut back in 2016. Nearly ten long model years ago.
All the while, Stellantis’ European brands have been forging ahead with desireable EVs – most recently launching the new DS No. 8 high-riding sedan, shown here, back in December … and I’m here to tell you that it really SHOULD have been the new Chrysler 300.
This, but with rich Corinthian leather
With a different grille, a Chrysler badge on the steering wheel, and a few different plastichrome numbers on the back, the DS Automobiles No. 8 could easily be a new-age Chrysler 300. Heck, even the interior’s avant-garde styling and architecturally-inspired stitching could tie-in to the Art Deco-style Chrysler Building in New York, further strengthening the big No. 8’s Chrysler-brand credibility.
Spec-wise, the DS meets the bill, as well. With a 92.7 kWh battery and the standard 230 hp electric motors on board, the electric crossover is good for 750 km (466 miles) of range on the WLTP cycle. With the same battery and a 350 hp dual-motor setup that sacrifices about 40 miles of range for a more sure-footed AWD layout and a 5.4 second 0-60 time that compares nicely to the outgoing Chrysler 300 V8.
The DS offers reasonably rapid 150 kW charging, too, enabling a 10-80% charge (over 300 miles of additional driving range) in less than thirty minutes.
Why it would work
Think of all the reasons the Wagoneer S and Charger Daytona EVs have failed to reach an audience. From the confusing Wagoneer “sub-branding” to the fact that no one was really asking for either an eco-conscious muscle car or a loud EV. On the flip side of that, the 300 is something different.
Since its first iteration seventy years ago, the Chrysler 300 (called the “C-300” back in 1955) has been a forward-looking vehicle. Even the most recent versions, developed off the Mercedes-Benz W210 platform Chrysler inherited while it was part of the “merger of equals” with Mercedes-Benz, looked forward from the malaise-era K-car brand to a bright, Mercedes-infused future.
With the DS No. 8, Chrysler could do it again. It could revive its classic American nameplate on a European-designed platform that wasn’t designed to be a Chrysler, doesn’t look like a Chrysler, and shouldn’t work as a Chrysler, but somehow does. The fact that it could also be the brand’s first successful electric offering in the US would just be a bonus.
Original content from Electrek.
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Powered by tech giant Huawei 5G-Advanced network, a fleet of over 100 Huaneng Ruichi all-electric autonomous haul trucks and heavy equipment assets have been deployed at the Yimin open-pit mine in Inner Mongolia.
With more than 100 units on site, China’s state-backed Huaneng Group officially deployed the world’s largest fleet of unmanned electric mining trucks at the Yimin coal plant in Inner Mongolia this past week. The autonomous trucks use the same Huawei Commercial Vehicle Autonomous Driving Cloud Service (CVADCS) powered by the ame 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network that powers its self-driving car efforts. Huawei says it’s the key to enabling the Yimin mine’s large-scale vehicle-cloud-network synergy.
Huawei is calling the achievement a “world’s first,” saying the new system has improved operator safety at Yimin while setting new benchmarks for AI and autonomous mining.
The autonomous mine project aligns with a broader push by Chinese government and industry to integrate AI and advanced connectivity into traditional industries – an approach we’ve already seen meet with great success in port environments by Hesai and Westwell.
And, if technology like Rocsys’ charging robots take off, these autonomous haul trucks won’t even need anyone to plug them in at the end of their shifts!
For their part, Huaneng Ruichi claims its cabin-less electric offer an industry-leading 90 metric ton rating (that’s about 100 imperial tons) and the ability operate continually in extreme cold temperatures as low as -40° (it’s the same, C or F), while delivering 20% more operational efficiency than a human-driven truck.
The Huawei-issued press release is a bit light on truck specs, but similar 90 tonne electric units claim 350 or 422 kWh LFP battery packs and up to 565 hp from their electric drive motors and some 2,300 Nm (1,700 lb-ft) of tq from 0 rpm.
Huawei executives said the Ruichi trucks reflect the company’s vision for smarter mining operations, with the potential to introduce similar technologies in markets like Africa and Latin America. The 100 asset electric fleet marks the first phase of a plan to deploy 300 autonomous trucks at the Yimin mine by 2028.
Electrek’s Take
From drilling and rigging to heavy haul solutions, companies like Huaneng Group are proving that electric equipment is more than up to the task of moving dirt and pulling stuff out of the ground. At the same time, rising demand for nickel, lithium, and phosphates combined with the natural benefits of electrification are driving the adoption of electric mining machines while a persistent operator shortage is boosting demand for autonomous tech in those machines.
The combined factors listed above are rapidly accelerating the rate at which machines that are already in service are becoming obsolete – and, while some companies are exploring the cost/benefit of converting existing vehicles to electric, the general consensus seems to be that more companies will be be buying more new equipment more often in the years ahead – and more of that equipment will be more and more likely to be autonomous as time goes on.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Huawei, South China Morning Post, and Supply Chain Digital.
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Tesla has started accepting Cybertruck trade-ins, something that wasn’t the case more than a year after deliveries of the electric pickup truck started.
We are starting to see why Tesla didn’t accept its own vehicle as a trade-in: the depreciation is insane.
The Cybertruck has been a commercial flop.
When Tesla started production and deliveries in late 2023, the vehicle was significantly more expensive and had less performance than initially announced.
At one point, Tesla boasted having over 1 million reservations for the electric pickup truck, but only about 40,000 people ended up converting their reservations into orders.
Now, Cybertruck inventory is sitting unsold for months and Tesla is having to offer heavy discounts to move them.
We previously reported that Tesla refused to accept the Cybertruck, its own vehicle, as a trade-in more than a year after starting deliveries.
Tesla didn’t share an explanation at the time, but we assumed that the automaker knew the Cybertruck was depreciating at an incredible rate and didn’t want to be stuck with more trucks than it was already dealing with.
Now, Tesla has started taking Cybertruck trade-ins, at least for the Foundation Series, and it is now providing estimates to Cybertruck owners (via Cybertruck Owners Club):
Tesla sold a brand-new 2024 Cybertruck AWD Foundation Series for $100,000. Now, with only 6,000 miles on the odometer, Tesla is offering $65,400 for it – 34.6% depreciation in just a year.
Pickup trucks generally lose about 20% of their value after a year and 34% after about 3-4 years.
It’s also wroth nothing that Tesla’s online “trade-in estimates” are often higher than the final offer as noted in the footnote o fhte screenshot above.
Electrek’s Take
This is already extremely high depreciation, but Tesla is actually trying to save face with estimates like this one.
As Tesla wouldn’t even accept Cybertruck trade-ins, used car dealers also slowed down their purchases as they also didn’t want to be caught with the trucks sitting on their lots for too long.
On Car Guru, the Cybertruck’s depreciation is actually closer to 45% after a year and that’s more representative of the offers owners should expect from dealers.
That’s entirely Tesla’s fault. The company created no scarcity with the Foundation Series. They built as many as people wanted. In fact, they built too many and ended having to “buff out” the Foundation Series badges on some units to sell them as regular Cybertrucks and as of last month, Tesla still had some Cybertruck Foundations Series in inventory – meaning they have been sitting around for up to 6 months.
Now, Tesla is stuck with thousands of Cybertrucks, early owners are already getting rid of their vehicles at an impressive rate, and the automaker had to slow production to a crawl.
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