The Toyota dealers in Orange County have heard that the Japanese automaker has a goal to acquire electrified models that make up at least 40% of new vehicle sales by 2025.
Toyota of Orange, a Toyota dealer in Orange County is aware that electrifying vehicles isn’t something new for the car company. In fact, as most of us all know, Toyota has had electrified models in the U.S. for about 25 years, when the Prius first launched.
What has surprised many car and Toyota enthusiasts is the news that the car company’s regional arm disclosed plans to introduce three new electrified models in the U.S. this year which are two battery electric vehicles and a plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV).
EV Models Will Make Up 40% Of New Vehicle Sales By 2025
The addition of three new electrified models at the Toyota dealers in Orange County is expected to broaden Toyota’s U.S. powertrain lineup, which will ultimately give customers more vehicle choices.
With these new aims, Toyota anticipates to once again be the leader in the alternative powertrain vehicle market, where it dominates an overwhelming 40% share. Additionally, Toyota accounts for 75% of the fuel cell market and 64% of the hybrids and plug-in sales in the U.S.
However, Toyota has a higher goal in mind, which is to get electrified vehicle models to account for 40% of new vehicle sales by 2025, and 70% by 2030. When you compare Toyota’s ambitions with other large car markers in the U.S., these car company’s plan to get rid of all their combustion engine-powered models by 2035.
Every Toyota And Lexus Models To Offer Electric Versions
The Toyota dealers in Orange County say that the Japanese car manufacturer made an environmental commitment in 2015 which was nicknamed the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. Essentially, Toyota wants all its models( including all Lexus models) will have electrified versions by 2050. The challenge has also motivated Toyota to start developing a dedicated BEV platform (e-TNGA) that provides flexibility for any drive configuration.
These social obligations also include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions around the world, and electrification is one solution that can help to lower carbon emissions. Based on information from Toyota research, BEVS and PHEVS have the same GHGs when other factors are considered such as pollutants made by electricity production, with both providing the same environmental advantages.
Vehicles Will Offer Different Forms Of Electrification
Although Toyota will not offer only electric models just like some competitors plan on doing by 2035. On the other hand, the Japanese car manufacturer will be providing diversified products with numerous forms of electrification. Toyota thinks this will help customers to pick out the model that best suits them while still helping to lower GHG emissions.
Other environmental goals that Toyota has included are lowering carbon dioxide from its operations, reducing overall water usage per vehicle produced, purchasing less plastic packaging materials, and developing a habitat management policy.
Toyota’s Mixed Electrified Vehicle Plan Of Action
What Toyota executives really wanted to get across during a recent media roundtable, is that even though Toyota considers the future to be an electric one, it envisions the most effective route is selling a combination of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and pure battery-electric vehicles.
“I want to be the Macy’s department store of powertrains, and by doing that, we can continue to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of our customers, Toyota Motor North America executive vice president of sales Bob Carter says.
Toyota Motor Corporation chief scientist Gill Pratt gave four scenarios. Imagine a customer that only has street parking available, who lives in an area with high-carbon electric power and few chargers, a hybrid is more practical for both the customer and the environment.
A customer who lives in the suburbs has a garage and travels from an area served by power with an average power-generation carbon footprint, would be better off with a plug-in hybrid.
A customer residing in an area with a large quantity of renewable energy with many chargers would be better off with a battery-electric vehicle.
And a fast-charge, long-range fleet vehicle owner can select a vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell.
A Big, Unused Battery Is An Expensive Burden
Also, Pratt believes that the average U.S. commute is about 16 miles, so it is wasteful to pay for a vehicle with a 300-mile range battery. In fact, Gill Pratt refers to these 300-mile range batteries as a “heavy expensive brick” that is made with precious metals that may never be used to capacity and brings about questions on whether the customer is purchasing something that won’t be used much.
In some cases, a hybrid may make more sense, Pratt says, Keeping in mind manufacturing and operating emissions, a plug-in hybrid can have almost the same carbon footprint as a pure electric vehicle, cost less, require less battery, cause less range anxiety, and have more rechargeable options. However, in a different part of the country, with more renewable energy, the BEV makes more sense.
Not one size fits all, is Pratt’s argument. There are different vehicles for different requirements and circumstances and rightsizing may contribute to a more significant impact in lowering harmful emissions in general if more people are in a vehicle with some level of electrification. This is Toyota’s way of letting all of us know that it is going to follow the example of its competitors who have made it their mission to switch to all-electric lineups by 2035.
Toyota Is An Electric Vehicle Pioneer
Carter makes it clear that Toyota has been a pioneer since it started researching electric vehicles in the late 1960s and developed its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 1996, which was an electric Toyota RAV4 in 1997 and its follow-up in 2012 that was handled in cooperation with Tesla.
Obviously, the Toyota Prius that launched in 1997 was the one that everybody remembers for the constant negative jabs some short-sighted people made about the vehicle. Now four generations, Toyota has sold about 1.9 million Priuses and Cartier says the current sales drop is the part of the natural evolution of the brand that keeps on moving ahead with new vehicles such as the Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicle.