Toyota says EVs don’t make sense in Australia, but Tesla’s Model Y is proving them wrong
Speaking at the global reveal of the updated 2024 bZ4X, a Toyota executive claimed electric vehicles don’t make sense in countries like Australia. Meanwhile, as the bestselling EV in the region, Tesla’s Model Y is proving that idea wrong.
“Right now, hybrid-electric vehicles are a better fit than BEVs for most consumers,” the Toyota Australia VP of sales, marketing, and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, told journalists Wednesday (via Car Sales).
Like many Toyota executives, Hanley continues pushing hybrid technology, where the company excels. “BEVs make sense right now in places like Norway where most energy is renewable, and incomes are high,” He added, “But Australia is not Europe.”
The comments come as Australia’s EV market is beginning to heat up. Toyota has long led Australia’s hybrid market, with nearly 90% of hybrid sales in the region last year.
Although Australia was late to the EV party, with electric models accounting for only 3.8% of overall car sales last year, the country is turning it around this year.
EV sales are up 80% in 2023, with over 65,000 Aussie drivers taking an electric car home. Thanks to new affordable EVs from China like BYD’s Atto 3, electric cars now account for 7.3% of new vehicle sales in Australia.
Toyota’s skepticism over EVs disproved by Tesla
Despite Hanley’s comments, electric vehicles continue gaining momentum in the country. In fact, Tesla’s Model Y is the bestselling SUV (gas or electric) through September.
The Model Y has already surpassed Toyota’s RAV4, Ford Ranger, and Mazda CX-5 to become the nation’s top-selling SUV.
Australia’s government introduced a new National Electric Vehicle Strategy in April to boost EV adoption. The strategy has three main goals, including:
- Increase the supply of affordable EVs.
- Establish the resources, systems, and infrastructure to enable rapid EV uptake.
- Encourage increased EV demand.
The strategy seems to be working with several affordable models available on the market and rising demand for zero-emission options.
Despite his enthusiasm for hybrids, Hanley clarified he is “not saying hybrids should be used instead of BEVs everywhere and forever.” He pointed out that Toyota is “accelerating its advances in electric vehicle technology,” including a new development center.
By 2026, Toyota plans to launch a new dedicated EV platform with 10 new electric models. The company will begin selling its first EV, the bZ4X, in Australia in February. Toyota Australia has committed to at least three EVs by 2026.
Electrek’s Take
This is not the first time Hanley has taken a stance against EVs. After presenting the new EV strategy, Toyota’s sales boss in the country said the company would “lobby for a standard with a generous time frame that will cut pollution without cutting vehicle options.”
It sounds like Toyota wants its hybrids to stick around a while longer. Hanley highlighted that in most Australian states (and other countries like China), power generation is still dependent on fossil fuels.
However, Australia is quickly moving toward a cleaner future. The country plans to increase the share of renewable energy to 82% by 2030, up from around 32% last year.
Australia’s installed solar power generation capacity has increased by over 200% since 2018, ranking sixth globally last year as one of the fastest-growing renewable energy producers. So, if Australia is moving forward, why is Toyota still trying to hold them back?
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Slate Auto, a new EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has poached a key Tesla manufacturing leader to build its electric pickup truck factory in Indiana.
Napoleon Reyes is a US Marine from Indiana who got a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue after leaving the force.
He then worked a few years at Subaru and Wabash before joining Tesla’s manufacturing team at the Fremont Factory in 2020.
There, he became part of the Model Y production ramp and was quickly promoted to lead the Model Y General Assembly in Fremont in 2022.
Reyes led Model Y GA, one of the most critical parts of vehicle manufacturing, for more than a year before being promoted again to lead new pilot processes at the factory.
Most recently, he led the launch of the general assembly line for the Model Y refresh.
The new engineering manager announced this week that he is leaving Tesla to join Slate:
A bit late on the post but after nearly 5 years working at Tesla in Fremont, I made the difficult decision to leave the Company and move closer to home with my family. It was an incredible experience being part of multiple line expansions and multiple Model Y program launches. Leading and managing the Model Y Refresh launch for GA in Fremont this year tested me professionally however we ultimately succeeded due to our amazing cross functional team collaboration. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with such great people, and I will forever be proud and thankful for everything we accomplished together.
I will be taking on a new role as Senior Manager, Plant Vehicle Engineering at Slate Auto in Warsaw, In.
Slate emerged from stealth mode earlier this year to unveil a new type of electric pickup truck featuring modular customization and an affordable price.
The company raised over $700 million through two rounds of investments from several different investors, including Jeff Bezos. It is currently raising more, which basically guarantees that it will be able to reach production.
The startup acquired a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana. It is currently converting to manufacture its electric pickup with a team from legacy automakers and also several former engineers and leaders from Tesla.
Rich Schmidt, an early Tesla manufacturing director, is the head of manufacturing.
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Genesis is preparing to shake things up with its most luxurious SUV yet, the GV90. Thanks to a new patent filing, we are getting a detailed look at how its Rolls-Royce-style coach doors will work.
New patent reveals Genesis GV90 coach door system
When Genesis first unveiled the full-size SUV at the NY Auto Show last March, it wasn’t the stunning design or advanced tech that caught everyone’s attention. It was the coach doors.
Although we were worried it wouldn’t make it to the production model, like many concepts, the Genesis GV90 will be offered with coach doors.
The ultra-luxe electric SUV was first caught with coach doors earlier this year on a car carrier in South Korea. Just last month, the GV90 was spotted in California with a hinge at the rear to open the coach doors.
After several new patents were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for new door latching devices, we are getting a sneak peek at how they are expected to work.
The patents, titled “Cinching Device For Door Latches in Vehicle,” and “Door Latch Device for Vehicles,” give a pretty detailed explanation of how the Genesis GV90’s coach doors will operate. The “Door Latch Device” uses a door striker on the lower side of the door, which is opened or closed by a hinge unit.
Unlike traditional doors, which use the B-pillar for support, the device is attached directly to the door itself, allowing for hinge-like movement.
The cinching device works in a similar way. It’s also attached to the door and part of the vehicle. However, unlike most of its kind, Genesis found a way to use a single cinching device to control multiple units. Again, the device is used for B-pillarless doors that swing open.
Genesis already said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles. The patent reveals a glimpse into how the luxury automaker could make it a reality.
Although the Genesis GV90 is expected to be offered with coach doors, they will likely not be standard. Other variants, with traditional door handles, have also been spotted testing in the US and South Korea.
Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. It will be built at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in South Korea. The flagship Genesis SUV is scheduled to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform, which the company said will “provide 50% improvement in driving range.” It will also be loaded with the latest technology, software, connectivity, and Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities.
Source: USPTO
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Environment
Podcast: Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the launch of the Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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