Featured Toyota Won’t Make A Proper EV Because Dealers Say It Won’t Sell

Even if Toyota (or their stealerships) DID want to sell EV's ... and IF they actually DID have one ready to release. Would they even want to right now?
Tesla Model 3 Completely Crushing US Luxury Car Competition — 10 CleanTechnica Charts | CleanTechnica

Even the closest in sales, MB & BMW are doing only 1/3 the sales. Lexus? 1/9 th the sales.
I wouldn't want to sell an EV either.
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That's the thing though, EVs are taking market share from ICE cars and there is lots of room.
The more manufacturers that make EVs, the faster ICE vehicles will loose market share.

So the ICE manufacturers can watch Tesla take market share as fast as Tesla can build them, or, they can take some of the pie for themselves.

 

One has to wonder that when Tesla, and only the model 3 sales alone, can outsell ALL of BMW's car models added up together in the USA, and outsell BMW every single month, and that TESLA is now at a market value higher than Mercedes Benz; that Toyota can still sit on their hands month after month and hope that ICE cars will still sell well enough into 2030 to keep them alive, and, and.....

There will be a time when Toyota must join the BEV game big time OR face the uncertainty that their continuing ICE business model forces them to become another GM or Ford and just discontinue a big part of their business (cars) altogether. I can imagine some big time arguments in the boardroom behind the scenes over becoming part of the BEV landscape.

 

The real issue is not that Tesla, an image brand addressing pent up demand from early adopters can sell 115,000 mid scale luxury priced cars after a price drop.

It’s can we change the fact roughly a million Ford trucks will sell this year?
Or next?
Or after that?

Cars sales are a drop in the bucket, within a crowded and increasingly small field.

For example only 13 model 3’s are registered in the state of Wisconsin, yet this very poor state buys lots of overpriced 4wd’s. Apparently New Tesla’s don’t much appeal to folks here.

For continued growth Tesla needs to become a repeat sale company and expand sales outside of 13 states (most of their sales are still Cali ones)

The car market is becoming regional, niche and irrelevant as you state, opening the door to Tesla
due to the current political environment, gas prices and a poor R&D and advertising environment of other mainstream players.

I think as long as big gas stuff sells in spades that the folks who are buying these vehicles are unlikely to become EV buyers any time soon, if gas prices rise the scramble to make and sell efficient normal gas cars will occur again while fortunes are lost in the process.

 

is the 'worry' that suv & trucks are in vogue?
or ~
Tesla only makes tons of sedans?
or ~
is it the "no desire to sell" mentality of status quo stealerships/manufacturere that - like with their sedans - they'll just wait 'till an EV pickup hits the market .... 400K buyers get in line for it?
What will status quo stealerships have "no desire to sell" then?
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Well Toyota could, but they aren’t.
Tesla is going to give it a shot, but could use help.

 

Keywords:

"Dealer says"

 

PHEVs and "traditional" hybrids are good transitional models as the industry sorts itself out in the move to zero emission vehicles, whether they will be battery cars or fuel cell. Don't let the Model 3 current sales fool you. These sales numbers are reservation holders, not typical buyers. I am not saying that Tesla will fail, but the current state of BEV sales is a bit abnormal, unless there is a paradigm change in the whole industry (which could happen). One day we may look back at BEVs in the same fond manner that steam powered machines are now cherished.

 

Teslas don't appeal to a lot of people. The silent majority have no interest in a Tesla, just like most people are disinterested in a BMW 7 Series or a Lamborghini.

 

Tesla says "NO to dealers"

 

ok true. & world-wide? Harleys don't appeal to a lot of people .... & hummers don't either - & 4x4's don't ... & 2 doors don't ... & econo-boxes don't & hybrids don't .... in fact no specific type of transportation garners 51% - especially from decade to decade. Transportation sales are in fact quite amorphic. So it's hard to understand how the generalization relates to Toyota being willing to accept aother manufacturer making conquest sales to Toyota's detriment.

kind of like the 1st sentence ..... true. But the OP is not specifically calling out tesla, or Lamborghini. Rather toyota (et al) feels compelled to publicly rationalize a business decision - despite that decision's likely ramifications. EV's - that are on par with their counterpart vehicles appear to outsell them. Yet Toyota mouthpieces say they won't. Well yea - that's true, if you don't make them. Let's see, how many of both rev1 & 2 of their Rav4-ev didn't get picked up? Yeah that's right, every one of them. Most at a premium - most w/out advertising them. Even tho both versions had their warts.
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Europe will mandate a share of low emission vehicles, it has been discussed 20% by 2025.
Parliament pushes for cleaner cars on EU roads by 2030 | News | European Parliament


That means within 6 years, Toyota must be able to sell about 200k LEV vehicles in the EU region countries annually.

Will Toyota be prepared?

 

or, the industry will hard core lobby against - overturn such rules - as they have done in the USA. The notion of an EV is so hated among some manufacturers - they will even falsely advertise to dissuade potential buyers, rather than build 'em.

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Are you referring to the oil industry, automotive industry, or both?

 

The representative ad in the post? That's a manufacturer shenanigan.
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I would think Toyota is in good shape if you say plug-in hybrids is acceptable low emission vehcile, which I think is probably where EU could be headed.

Also EU regulators/legislators have a strong tendency for wishful thinking, so there is that. USA has somewhat less immedaite need because gasoiline cars (vs. diesel) have become nearly emission free excepting for CO2 of course. We really do not have an auto pollution problem per se (trucks different story).

The USA situation is more climate change/political choice dictated. EU has the chance to clean air (due to diesel use) and reduce CO2, so that's a little hard to argue against that combo. Also EU is a little like Japan in terms of not being very self-sufficient on fossil fuel supplies.

 

If I buy a $60k Tesla, was I going to buy a $25-40k Toyota? How many will choose the $500 difference?

Green is good but so are greenbacks in my pocket.

So it is a matter of how much of each will the average person choose.

Is that what Toyota is betting on? We'll get the middle of the market which is bigger and let the technology mature (see any article on breakthrough battery or charging technology),

 

LOL
I misread that to be "We'll get the middle finger of the market..."

 

You beat me to it. I was going to post:

Toyota Won’t Make A Proper EV Because Dealers Say [They rjw] Won’t Sell [Them. rjw]​

Bob Wilson

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It might already be too late. How many fast chargers does anybody have along the Interstates besides Tesla?
It a company, like Toyota, waits until the technology is proven they will have given up a big advantage. They won't be able to catch up on the infrastructure side...unless they think they are going to build cars with 500+ mile batteries, for example.
Or they will just end up paying Tesla to be able to use the Superchargers.
This won't come cheap...it is more than the cost of the electricity.
Or they are hoping Tesla overextends itself and gives this up cheap.

Mike