One of Toyota’s most prominent suppliers and Japan’s leading auto parts manufacturer, Denso, appointed a new CEO Monday as the industry’s shift to EVs heats up globally.
Toyota, Japan lag behind the EV market
Toyota is in the midst of an identity crisis. The world’s largest automaker has stood by as the industry transformed beneath it.
Electric vehicle sales rose 60% in 2022, despite supply chain hurdles, surpassing 10 million for the first time, according to information by the IEA. Major car markets are leading the way, with over one in four cars sold in China, over one in five in the EU, and almost one in every ten vehicles sold in the US being electric.
However, one primary car market, in particular, has severely lagged behind the overall market. Fully electric vehicles accounted for just 2.1% of new passenger car sales in Japan in 2022, compared to almost 20% in Europe and China.
Toyota has played a commanding role in the nation’s reluctant approach to going all in on fully electric, zero-emission EVs.
The automaker has actively challenged the industry’s shift to electric vehicles over the past decade, working to spread misinformation and lobbying against rules that promote EV adoption.
Toyota’s first all-electric vehicle, the bZ4X, had a disappointing launch, with a recall derailing the rollout.
As a result, Toyota ranked among the world’s most obstructive companies on climate policy in 2022, with less than 1% of total sales being zero-emission (not hybrid). In addition, Toyota was found to have one of the least developed supply chains for reducing carbon emissions.
The trend may soon change with Japan’s leading auto supplier and critical Toyota vendor, Denso, appointing a new CEO.
Toyota bZ4X (Source: Toyota)
Toyota’s auto supplier appoints new CEO amid EV shift
Denso was initially formed as a Toyota spin-off, becoming a powerhouse in the global auto parts industry and expanding to supply many automakers.
The supplier revealed on Monday it had chosen senior executive and chief software officer Shinnosuke Hayashi to take over the reins as president and CEO. The move comes shortly after Toyota also appointed a new leader.
Incumbent president, Koji Arima, told reporters at a news conference:
The foundation for management is now in place, and for Denso to take a bigger leap forward, it is necessary to have someone with different knowledge from myself, who has leadership, can create new value, and inject new wind [into the company].
When asked about what challenges he will address first, Hayashi mentioned the auto industry’s trend toward fully electric, software-defined vehicles, claiming:
We will respond by transforming our portfolio, which includes production and supply structure as well as engineers’ skills.
Toyota’s newly elected leader Koji Sato, who took over this month for 66-year-old grandson to the company’s founder Akio Toyoda, revealed plans to “accelerate” the company’s transition to EVs with ten new models and 1.5 million in sales by 2026.
Electrek’s Take
Over the past few weeks, or months, Japanese companies have one by one announced plans to boost EV development efforts.
For example, Honda announced it’s overhauling its business strategy to focus on electric vehicles earlier this year. At the same time, Mitsubishi declared it would become a “mainly BEV” brand by the end of the decade.
Despite the recent claims, Toyota is still sticking to a nontraditional approach with plans to include hybrids and fuel cell vehicles in its lineup.
While many automakers are already achieving double-digit or 100% EV sales, Toyota is still aiming for less than 15% of its total to be electric by 2026. Perhaps with its leading supplier also changing leadership, the automaker and nation can get on board with the zero-emission EV movement.
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Fleet electrification expert Tony Nisam took to LinkedIn yesterday to post a deal that he ran across at a Washington State Costco that stacks a $25,500 manufacturer rebate with $3,000 in “regular” Costco Member Savings, $2,750 in “LIMITED-TIME” Manufacturer to Member Incentives, plus an additional $250 for Costco Executive members.
Do a bit of math (add up 25,500 + 3,000 + $2,750 + 250), and you’ll calculate an almost unheard of $31,500 discount on one of the best, most capable commercial vans on the market – ICE or electric. And that’s before you factor in the 0% interest financing (72 mo.) being advertised at Blade Chevrolet, the Mount Vernon, Washington, where VIN 2G58J2TY6S9104313 (the exact van shown, below) is shown as stock number 16757.
If you’re not a Costco member yet and you’re looking for a new truck for your business or even a unique #vanlife ride with zero emissions, modern tech, and a nationwide dealer network, GM makes that $130 Executive membership seem like a no-brainer.
Is a $39,000 price cut enough to get you to take a look at a new Brightdrop? At $45,235 (from a starting price of $84,235), can you afford not to? Head down to the comments and let us know.
Tesla has quietly removed the Cybertruck’s range extender from the options in its online configurator.
Does Tesla still plan to bring the product to market?
When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck in late 2023, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.
The tri-motor version, which was the most popular in reservation tallies, was supposed to have over 500 miles of range and start at $70,000.
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Tesla now sells the tri-motor Cybertruck for $100,000 and only has a range of 320 miles.
As for the dual-motor Cybertruck, it was supposed to cost $50,000 and have over 300 miles of range. The reality is that it starts at $80,000, and it has 325 miles of range.
However, Tesla had devised a solution to bring the range closer to what it originally announced: a separate battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed. Tesla called it a “range extender.” It costs $16,000 and takes up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed.
Even though the Cybertruck has been in production for a year and a half at this point, the range extender has yet to launch.
At the time, Tesla also reduced the range that the removable battery pack adds to the Cybertruck to “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.
Now, Tesla has removed the option from its online Cybertruck configurator. It used to take reservations for the range extender with a “$2,000 non-refundable deposit”, as seen on the image above, but now it’s not in the configurator at all at the time of writing.
It’s unclear if Tesla is not planning to launch the product anymore or if it is just pausing reservations.
In its specs page, Tesla still lists the achievable range of both versions of the Cybertruck with and without the range extender battery:
Electrek’s Take
I’m curious. Is it dead, or does Tesla just want to stop taking reservations for it?
At first, I was curious about the product even though I didn’t think it would make up for Tesla’s significant miss on Cybertruck specs.
However, after it was confirmed that it takes up 30% of your bed and that it needs to be installed and removed by Tesla at a service center, I think it’s pretty much dead on arrival at $16,000.
It’s going to be a product limited to only a few people at best. And now that’s if it makes it to market.
With the option being removed from the configurator, there’s no production timeline available. Again, the last one was “mid-2025”, which is soon.
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Portable power station specialist EcoFlow is kicking off its third annual Member’s Festival this month and is offering a unique new rewards program to those who become EcoFlow members. The 2025 EcoFlow Member’s Festival will offer savings of up to 65% for its participating customers, and a portion of those funds will be allocated toward rescue power solutions for communities around the globe through the company’s “Power for All” fund.
EcoFlow remains one of the industry leaders in portable power solutions and continues to trek forward in its vision to power a new tech-driven, eco-conscious future. Per its website:
Our mission from day one is to provide smart and eco-friendly energy solutions for individuals, families, and society at large. We are, were, and will continue to be a reliable and trusted energy companion for users around the world.
To achieve such goals, EcoFlow has continued to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy solutions to its community members, including portable power stations, solar generators, and mountable solar panels. While EcoFlow is doing plenty to support its growing customer base, it has expanded its reach by giving back to disaster-affected communities by helping bolster global disaster response efforts the best way it knows how– with portable power solutions.
Source: EcoFlow
EcoFlow and its members look to provide “Power for All”
Since 2023, EcoFlow has collaborated with organizations worldwide as part of its “Power for All” mission. This initiative aims to ensure access to reliable and timely power to disaster-affected communities across the globe, including rescue agencies, affected hospitals, and shelters, to support rescue and recovery efforts.
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This fund most recently provided aid for communities affected by the recent Los Angeles wildfires, assistance to the Special Forces Charitable Trust (SFCT) in North Carolina following severe hurricanes, and support for non-profits engaged in hurricane preparedness in Florida and the Gulf Coast. Per Jodi Burns, CEO of the Special Forces Charitable Trust:
In the wake of devastating storms in Western North Carolina, reliable power was a critical need for the families we serve. Thanks to EcoFlow’s generous donation of generators, we were able to provide immediate relief, ensuring these families and their communities had access to power when they needed it most. We are so impressed with EcoFlow’s commitment to disaster response through their ‘Power for All’ program. It has made a tangible impact, and we are deeply grateful for their support and partnership in helping these families recover and rebuild.
In 2024, the US experienced 27 weather and climate events, each causing losses exceeding $1 billion, marking the second-highest annual total on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters underscore the critical need for reliable and timely power solutions during emergencies, much like EcoFlow and its members are helping provide through the “Power For All” initiative.
To support new and existing EcoFlow members, the company is celebrating its third annual Member’s Festival throughout April to offer a do-not-miss discount on its products and donate a portion of all sales to the “Power for All” fund to provide rescue power to those in need in the future. Learn how it all works below.
Source: EcoFlow
Save big and give back during the 2025 Member’s Festival
As of April 1st, you can now sign up to become an EcoFlow member to participate in the company’s exclusive 2025 Member Festival.
As a member, you can earn “EcoFlow Power Points” by completing tasks like registration, referrals, and product purchases and tracking your individual efforts toward disaster preparedness and recovery.
Beginning April 4, EcoFlow members will also be able to take advantage of exclusive discounts of up to 65% off select portable power stations, including the DELTA Pro Ultra, DELTA Pro 3, DELTA 2 Max, DELTA 3 Plus, RIVER 3 Plus, and more. However, these sale prices only last through April 25, so you’ll want to move quickly!
Click here to learn more about EcoFlow’s “Power for All” campaign. To register for EcoFlow’s 2025 Member Festival in the US, visit the EcoFlow website. To register as a member in Canada, visit here.
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