Why is Toyota so anti-EV? It lost the race to compete, says Tesla and EV Council
Things are getting heated Down Under as a Toyota executive’s recent anti-EV comments in Australia are being challenged by industry leaders, including Tesla. According to the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia, the comments come as the automaker is losing market share over its own hesitancy to go electric.
Toyota has been the most vocal automaker about going all-in on electric vehicles from the beginning.
Japan’s largest automaker consistently lobbied against stricter emissions rules under Akio Toyoda’s leadership.
Although the long-time leader stepped down in January, the automaker’s anti-EV efforts continue. Toyota’s VP of sales, marketing, and franchise operations in Australia told journalists last week, “Right now, hybrid-electric vehicles are a better fit than BEVs for most consumers.”
Hanley continued Toyota’s anti-EV agenda, instead pushing hybrids, a segment the automaker has long dominated.
Toyota’s sales leader added, “BEVs make sense right now in places like Norway where most energy is renewable, and incomes are high,” adding, “But Australia is not Europe.”
The Japanese automaker accounted for nearly 90% of hybrid sales in the nation last year. Meanwhile, Australia’s pure EV sales are finally heating up.
Despite a slow start, accounting for only 3.8% of overall car sales last year, Australians are buying electric cars.
EV sales are up 80% in 2023, now accounting for 7.3% of the overall new vehicle market. Over 65,000 Australian drivers took home a purely electric car thanks to new affordable models like the BYD Atto 3 and Tesla’s Model Y.
Tesla’s VP of public policy, Rohan Patel, took to social media to set the record straight. Patel explained that “Mr Hanley is obviously not much of an expert on the Australian electricity grid or the speed of the transition.”
Pointing to Australia’s transition to renewables, Patel said thousands of Aussies are already running their EVs on 100% clean electricity from the sun.
Renewables accounted for 8% of Australia’s electricity use in 2009. Today, that number is around 32%. The country plans to increase the share of renewable energy to 82% by 2030.
Although Australia imports roughly 90% of its oil, it’s one of the fastest-growing renewable energy producers.
Patel said it’s a “no-brainer” for the Australian government and people to move faster toward EVs. He added they are “too smart than to be tricked by cynical PR that aims to slow the sustainable transportation transition to help sell internal combustion vehicles in the short term.”
CEO of the EV Council of Australia, Behyad Jafari, agreed with Patel. He said the comments “go against what’s in the best interest of both Australian consumers looking to save on fuel bills and Australia’s economy.”
Jafari explained that Hanley was “talking down the battery industry when we’re the ones who can supply the world with EV batteries.” He added:
This is an attempt by them to try to defend their own failings rather than admitting, as they have at a global level, they got it wrong and they’ve been too slow off the market with EVs.
Although Toyota remained the largest automaker in the country, its lead is slipping. The automaker sold 21,000 fewer vehicles this year, while Tesla sold nearly 24,00 more (via TheDriven.io).
To prove it, Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling SUV (gas or electric) through September in Australia. The Model Y topped the Toyota RAV4, Ford Ranger, and Mazda CX-5 on the sales charts.
Electrek’s Take
As Patel and Jafari pointed out, Australia has a massive opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for EVs.
Australia has one of the largest lithium reserves, accounting for over 50% of the world’s supply.
Toyota’s comments are nothing new. Hanley said he would “lobby for a standard with a generous time frame that will cut pollution without cutting vehicle options” earlier this year.
The Japanese automaker has long lobbied against all-electric vehicles because it’s not Toyota’s forte. Hybrids are.
Toyota has relied on its hybrid technology, neglecting to invest in pure EVs early. The company’s first global EV, the bZ4X electric SUV, had several issues, leading to a slow rollout.
Since then, Toyota has announced a series of innovations, including new battery tech, production methods, and design, to improve the efficiency and cost of future EV models.
Meanwhile, Toyota has sold 76,457 battery electric vehicles through September, a measly 1% of its over 7.5 million total sales.
Toyota is known for its empty promises regarding EVs and battery tech, so we will see how much it comes to market.
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes a merger between Electric Bike Company and Integral Electrics, California looking to clamp down further on Sur Ron hooligans, a Super73 recall, Cowboy’s production move, a tour inside Bafang’s factory in China, and more.
The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
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, 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 Wheel-E podcast today:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):
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NIU, best known as a leader in the electric moped market, has expanded considerably over the last few years. In addition to offering a hot-selling new electric dirt bike and showing off concepts for electric ATVs, the company is now unveiling an electric microcar known as the NIUMM 500.
Still in its prototype stage, the two-seater NIUMM 500 electric microcar is designed to fit into L6e category of light quadricycles in Europe. As a quadricycle, these vehicles are technically not “cars” in the traditional sense (or in the legal sense), and thus have their own set of regulations that help streamline their path to production. Other popular microcars, such as the Citroen Ami, have taken a similar path and reached success with over 30,000 units sold.
With a target price of €8,000 (approximately US $8,300), the NIUMM 500 is intended to fill that niche role of a comfortable, weather-protected urban commuter, going beyond a typical moped or motorcycle with the advantages of locking storage and the ultimate achievement of staying dry in the rain.
In order to qualify as an L6e vehicle though, there are certain restrictions such as speed and power that prevent the NIUMM 500 from laying down the fastest lap times. A top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) keeps the microcar city-oriented, though you could probably tell by looking that this isn’t a highway vehicle.
In some countries, light quadricycles don’t even require a full car driver’s license, instead allowing the operator to hold a more easily-obtainable moped permit.
Despite the speed limitation, the little electric microcar has a lot going for it. The traditional steering wheel control and two-pedal drive setup will feel familiar to seasoned car drivers, yet the vehicle offers a more moped-like parking experience by taking up a mere fraction of a parking spot. The narrow size helps squeeze through tight city streets, though you likely won’t be lane splitting quite like a moped.
Back on the car-like side of things, electric locks and power windows come standard (including a power rear windshield), as does electric heating. Optional add-ons include a sun roof and air conditioning. There’s a decently large storage area behind the two seats, and another small storage area in front of the passenger seat.
And in another nod to its hybrid design, halfway between a moped and a car, the NIUMM 500 can even be outfitted with removable batteries (straight from NIU’s NQiX electric mopeds). The removable battery version allows apartment dwellers or others without access to street-level parking to still own and charge their own microcar. Just like how I charge my own NIU batteries at home, owners can simply carry the batteries up the elevator and charge them in their apartment.
For those with charging access though, there’s a fixed battery version with a larger 7 kWh capacity. It gets an impressive 118 km (73 miles) of range, compared to the removable battery version’s 60 km (37 miles) of range.
Both appear to feature the same 5 kW motor with a peak output of 10 kW – also the same drivetrain from the NIU NQiX electric moped.
NIU is currently showing off the new vehicle at the Motorrad show in Dortmund, Germany.
There’s no word yet on if or when the NIUMM 500 will see production, but based on conversations with company insiders, it sounds like NIU is fairly serious about the microcar’s future.
Here’s to hoping it sees the road soon, and that they can keep that target price in check on the way there.
Electrek’s Take
Yes, I’m all in on this!
I LOVE electric microcars. Give me a tiny car, a golf cart, whatever you want to call it, and I’ll take it. For city commuters, 25 mph is often sufficient, and since many people don’t feel safe on a scooter, these types of vehicles fit the bill as lighter and more efficient alternatives to a car that still carry some benefits of a scooter or moped.
I tested out Wink Motors’ vehicles in NYC a couple of years ago and got around the city just fine with a top speed of 25 mph, so I think these could even work in the US. But of course Europe is the primary target here thanks to their more conducive quadricycle laws.
If anyone at NIU is reading this, I will travel to review!
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Renewables increased their output by almost 10% and provided nearly a quarter of US electrical generation in 2024, according to newly released US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
Solar was still No 1
Solar remained the US’s fastest-growing source of electricity in 2024. Utility-scale and “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar combined increased by 26.9% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to the SUN DAY Campaign, which reviewed EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report data.
Utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 32%, while small-scale solar increased by 15.3%. Together, solar was nearly 7% (6.91%) of total US electrical generation for the year.
In December alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar expanded by 42% compared to December 2023.
Small-scale solar (systems <1 MW) accounted for 27.9% of all solar generation and provided 1.9% of the US electricity supply in 2024. In fact, small-scale solar PV generates over five times more electricity than utility-scale geothermal.
2024 renewables milestones
The electrical output of US wind farms in 2024 grew by 7.7% year-over-year. Wind remains the largest source of electrical generation among renewable energy sources, accounting for 10.3% of the US total.
Wind and solar combined provided more than 17.2% of US electrical generation during 2024. The mix of all renewables – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal – provided 24.2% of total US electricity production in 2024 compared to 23.2% of electrical output a year earlier.
Between January and December, electrical generation by renewables grew by 9.6% compared to the same period the year before – nearly three times the growth rate of natural gas (3.3%) and over 10 times that of nuclear power (0.9%).
In December alone, electrical generation by renewables grew by 10.1% compared to December 2023.
Wind and solar together produced 15.9% more electricity than coal and came close to matching nuclear power’s share of total generation (17.2% vs. 17.8%).
The mix of renewables reinforced their position as the second largest source of electrical generation, behind only natural gas.
“Renewable energy sources now provide a quarter of the nation’s electricity,” said the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Consequently, the rash efforts of the Trump Administration to undermine wind, solar, and other renewables will have serious negative consequences for the nation’s electricity supply and the economy.”
Read more: Renewables provided 90% of new US capacity in 2024 – FERC
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