completely agree and it's going to be a long transition period, but some feel that EVs should not even be allowed to exist - some of that reaction I'd assume is driven by a number of states and countries taking steps to ban ICE sales. But battery technology is improving and as I've stated there are hundreds of billions being invested globally in EV and EV related technology.
I would want a tiny Bobcat to go with it - for yard work and landscaping. ?ya wouldn't work in the US. but they still sell in the US
Well they all want to make money. If their company is more productive and better sales than others then in effect they make more money. Toyota was the hybrid leader for a long time. The current push by the administration is to go all EV. So all manufacturers are having to adjust and find what works. If that means borrowing the opponents playbook then they will. Will have watch the new CEO for a few months to get himself established.
A Toyota Prius starts at $27k, Corolla Hybrid at $23k, I don't see Toyota being able to make a $23k Hybrid Stout for the US market and if they make it likely several yrs away so unless we enter into a period of deflation it's going to be very difficult. . Given what Ford sells the Escape hybrid for - the pricing on the Maverick is awesome and I'd be shocked to see Toyota make something less expensive, generally underselling the competition is not what they excel at.
If they can sell a Corolla for $23K then it is possible. It would be a cheap, no thrills, entry level version that would not garner enough sales. However, I don't think it will be that cheap either. Most likely it will be comparable to the Maverick in price.
Check this article out - it lists by states some of the clean energy investments and jobs created - a good portion of that is battery plants - Tennessee nearly $11B and 12k jobs , if our country did nothing - a lot of this investment and jobs would continue overseas - remember China currently produces some 70% of the world's lith-ion batteries. There will some investments that don't endure but the IRA has spurred a lot of investment in the USA. As far as GM cutting jobs - Ford has done similar - CEO Farley contends Ford's cost structure - including workforce is not competitive with rivals - this includes traditional ICE production. And there are some sizable investments taking place in US chip mfg.
Why would anyone want to be like Farley? Unless your goal is to run the company into the ground like we're seeing first hand right now. I think Toyota is smart for not jumping into this whole EV thing full bore like Ford and GM are. Take a look at the ones having issues and losing money right now and it's not Toyota.
Agree toyota is smart, just pointing out yoda announced in Dec a $28B investment in evs with 30 new models planned by 2030 and the new ceo reportedly more ev friendly. Hydrogen fuel seems to be losing momentum, so can Yoda afford not to play in the ev world? Also wanted to point out ev growth is creating many jobs in the USA, hopefully ford and gm will be around to use them , but it seems clear battery tech at present in big heavy vehicles is far from ideal. But that's what Americans prefer big heavy vehicles and ford and gm seem to have underestimated tesla. Not sure farley will make it to 2024 if fords problems persist
