Featured Toyota MAY consider making EV cars (and presumably Lexus too)

Far too vague. Sure, those quotes could mean that, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it.
I would welcome the move, but they have a very steep hill to climb to get my business back.
And since just about everybody has announced plans to release many models of EVs, I would not use the term "market leader" if Toyota followed suit.

 

Perhaps someone noticed the capture of former Prius owners to EVs and plug-ins?

There has been a substantial change in battery technology and manufacturing. Twenty years ago, the first Prius in Japan was and lead to an optimum hybrid solution. The world has changed enough that earlier decisions may need to be revisited.

Bob Wilson

 

how are bev's selling in japan?

 

both links are from june and at least one was posted here previously. i'm sure toyota has an eye to the weather.

 

The same criteria still persists. Toyota's want to deliver a product for the masses. If it cannot reach the mainstream, becoming profitable & high-volume within a product-cycle, they'll keep the technology in a research phase.

With Prius PHV, we saw that in the form of only rolling out limited quantity in select states. They held off until that affordability threshold could be achieved. Prius Prime will be that product realistic for ordinary consumers. With Mirai, we will continue to see extremely limited availability for many years to come. It simply makes no sense offering the technology to a wider audience when that business move cannot self-sustain.

There's a lot of resentment toward Toyota by a small group of individuals for not making EV announcements like the other automakers, even if those other automakers actions are nothing but token gestures. That's annoying and unproductive. You don't advance the masses by not actually changing. To make a difference, we need choices that are actually competitive with what showroom floor shoppers would otherwise purchase.

As of late 2016, there are not any EV offerings capable of competing with traditional vehicles. That's ok, if they are able to drop cost enough prior to tax-credits expiring to retain interest. Otherwise, the very same problem with hybrids will also happen with EVs. Notice how the typical consumer couldn't care less about reducing emissions and is unwilling to pay a premium to use less fuel?

Leadership means striving to deliver a product for the masses. Look no further than Volt for an example of claiming leadership, but not actually fulfilling that criteria. Cost of what was delivered was far too high to produce & sell it in large quantity. Simply delivering more miles of EV alone is not enough. That's why aspects, like spacious seating, have proven favor for Tesla and what GM hopes to capture with Bolt. That's also why Prius Prime will deliver outstanding MPG once the plug-supplied electricity is used up.

Notice how other EV offerings, like Ford Focus EV, VW e-Golf, and Hyundai Soul EV all sell in tiny numbers, yet the automaker gets praise for embracing electric vehicles? It's a reality some choose to disregard, embracing the "me too" approach rather than pushing for showroom floor competition. That's sad & unfortunate.

 

I do not know but Gen4 Prius is best selling car in Japan...looks like maybe 450,000 Gen4+c sales this year. Let's see how Prime does. If Li batts come down in cost to the point where Toyota feels they can make a profit from BEV, then I see no reason for them to not go that way.

 

I fit well into our local plug-in owners club, despite owning a plug-in with such a small battery-capacity. The reason why is simple, my endorsement and heavy support for lithium batteries. With all the promoting I do for Prius PHV online through forum & blog posts, driving videos, and my own website, it's ok for me to self-promote a little... since the reason why is helpful to others. They can see my support extends beyond just Toyota. It's the advancement of the batteries that I'm really pushing favor for.

At the meeting last month, the topic of Toyota's high-volume production of lithium batteries due to Gen4 Prius was brought up. The automaker is considered a giant no one is paying much attention to. They are quietly building up capacity, the ability to deliver affordable choices with high reliability and consumer confidence.

Think about how many of the 1.4 Million hybrids Toyota sells this year that will have shifted from NiMH to Lithium batteries. Do consumers have any idea that the battery-pack is different from that in the past? Would they even care if they did know? The point is that they are being used by new owners, the market is expanding. Toyota is penetrating the market outside enthusiasts, something all other automakers continue struggling to achieve.

We'll see more of that progress with Prius Prime. That's a plug-in vehicle configured to entice showroom floor shoppers. How many other plug-in choices specifically target those consumers? They are the who profit on-going profit for the business. Enthusiasts certainly don't fulfill that role. Automakers are unwilling to take on huge risk. Toyota found a way to reach further into the mainstream without having to do that... and get criticized as a result. Why? Think about how many lithium battery cells they will produce in the next year.

 

don't disagree with any of this, but we also need pioneer's like tesla and leaf, to bring government help, charging stations, battery development, consumer awareness, cost reduction and much, much more. without them, toyota would never consider a bev, because the masses wouldn't have these educational opportunities.

same as how we wouldn't all be driving hybrids if toyota hadn't made those initial money losing investments.

 

I think the quotes in the links in the OP are too vague. I take them to mean they are planning on increasing the amount of EV in a hybrid or in a plug-in hybrid as opposed to manufacturing a BEV.

 

if you read tides link, they are planning an all electric prius.

 

Where is this praise? They are a step up over models available only in California and maybe a state or two for compliance purposes.

Toyota made an investment, but so did the Japanese government. The MITI Low Emission Vehicle(LEV) program was a partnership between government and the auto manufacturers that started in the early eighties, possibly late seventies. It was looking into options for reducing or eliminating vehicle emissions in cities. The research for it was used in the Prius, and also later in the Leaf, and the program subsidized hybrids and BEVs when the Prius was first introduced in Japan.

 

right, that's why i mentioned government help. the chicken and the egg (or carrot and stick) can work both ways.

and also why i asked how many bev's there are in japan, because i believe toyota is more driven by japan government the u.s.

 

Maybe a hint with a trademark name hidden somewhere for a future BEV Prius like the PHEV Prime.

@john1701a who IIRC alerted us to the Prime name trademark a few years ago, any new interesting Toyota name trademarks out there?

 

that's right .... no one's knocking on Toyota's door to build EV's . . . . any more. And so the door knockers went over to corporate Tesla ... and so Tesla now has $1,000 from each of the > 400,000 pre-order Model 3's ... not to mention existing orders for the Models S & X. Yea, toyota doesn't want to deliver a product to the masses. That's pretty evident, because 400,000 orders represents more than some of toyota's yearly best sellers. Oh well - when GM & Chrysler/Dodge & Ford failed to be able to figure out how to build a decent small pickup decades ago, they were forced to buy then from Japanese manufacturers & then the big 3 simply slapped their little chrome brand moulding onto the japanese pickups. I know I love the ones I bought back then. Wouldn't that be a pathetic irony ... if in the not too distant future, Toyota had to pay the American Manufacturer, Tesla, so that Toyota could do the same thing?
Maybe I'm wrong .... maybe if Toyota continues throwing tons of billions into the hydrogen lobby & their handfull of R&D vehicles that keep getting promises of tons of orders that never quite seem to be ready for prime time .... maybe that'll somehow turn around for 'em.

Back when you & I joined PC, my memory of the prius was NO ADVERTISING at all was going on. Yet new buyers had to wait & wait for their ride to come off the boat. Those of us who appreciated how great they were, in turn told others. Now, the same thing is going on with Tesla ... no ads .... except for homemade / high quality masterpiece fan based ads

Another Fan-made Tesla Commercial | PriusChat
and the scuttlebutt has yielded a lot of orders.
Toyota WAS a great pioneer of EV's but for their new direction, it might not have changed course so greatly.

not to shaby -

Plug-in electric vehicles in Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.... or is that shabily .... but in a teeny country, where mass transit is the primary way to go - either way you shake it ...
.

 

Actually;

The World’s Largest Electric Vehicle Maker Also Has a US Presence | Business Wire
Surprised?
just saying ....
That's ¼million /yr right there . . . not even count the approaching tidal wave - $1,000 deposit/model 3 pre-orders that number in the 100K's. And other manufacturers are on the cusp of delivering longer range Ev's priced for the average consumer.
It's a downright shame Toyota is sticking to their prior alibis - no one wanted 'em, & that Toyota's ev's can't reach mainstream & profitability & high volume - within a product cycle whatever that means.
.

 

Yes there's some corporate revisionism going on in this thread. Some have forgotten about those anti-ev comments along with many other facts like the PIP nationwide rollout was cancelled due to flagging sales and price reductions/HOV access needed to move the stock after the early adopter sales phase.

Toyota has a fairly good fleet mpg avg. thanks primarily to the Prius line doing the heavy lifting and secondarily to their low mpg large truck/suv's not selling in huge numbers so they don't need ultra-fuel efficient vehicles as badly as other traditional automakers. Also, they do have, thanks to CARB, a pretty sweet deal on credits for their hydrogen program so overall their corporate need for EV's isn't that strong.