Toyota Plans To Change The EV Game By 2022 - Isn't Tesla Too Far Ahead Already?

2022? Really?

NO ONE is too far ahead. Tesla's technology in no way is innovative. It's the same basic technology that everyone else has. The only thing different about Teslas is that they were purposefully designed to be EVs and not an ICE car with batteries bolted in. Manufacturers in the industry should not focus on Tesla but instead on the GM Bolt which should have succeeded easily but is an abject failure.

If I were Toyota, I'd do a Lexus sedan to replace the GS that is purely an EV with a crossover variant.

They are the very definition of innovative. They changed almost everything over a traditional car from the buying experience to the UI to the door handles. They are a year ahead of everyone on self-driving tech except for Waymo and now other companies are using the Model S as the benchmark for their premium sedans. Their biggest advantage is that they iterate quickly and consistently, if other companies don't pick that up (Toyota is trying) then they will always be at a disadvantage.

Jeff Bezos (now the world's richest person) once claimed a business' only true advantage is their agility because your competitors will copy everything that you do. Right now no car company is more agile than Telsa. They even opened up their patents for all to use.

100% BS

If you actually think Tesla can out engineer Mercedes or Toyota, you've been smoking your medicinal pot too much.

There's definitely room to improve charging time, if they say you will be able to charge the car from empty in minutes then it's technology that's much needed.

They are late if they are doing the same as Tesla on liquid-state battery, but Toyota is doing the solid-state battery so it's not late.

If anything, Toyota has all the money in the world (for a car manufacture) that Telsa doesn't. They can build things quick and attract all kind of talents.

if anything, as the Bolt illustrates, a manufacturer can be too early to the market. The EV segment simply isn't large enough right now for manufacturers to do anything other than pay lip service to the magnificent future.

AS long as the price of gasoline stays relatively stable - the segments that will sell are Trucks and Pseudo Trucks (Suvs, CUVs, Minivans - etc - are all classified as trucks by the government).

It would take a real spike in the cost of energy to create a big market for EVs - which does not exist today. THe problem with most EVs today is that they are styling nightmares that would not sell to regular car customers. With the demise of the car (THey will come back when oil prices rise again in 10 years) - it will the company that produces a decent EV-CUV - that will take many of the sales. THe model 3 is a nice small car- and they are not selling as ICE cars - what makes anyone think they will as EVs.

THe problem with EVs remains infrastructure. THE basic advantages of an EV are for work commutes - but in urban areas - unless Apartment developers put in charging stations - lot of potential buyers cannot buy an EV simply because there is no convenient way to charge it when you don't have a garage of your own. In rural areas - the people will still be cautious about the range of the EV's for years - and they keep their old cars longer anyway.

I don't expect a big change in EV sales UNLESS some government REQUIRES them. I expect that not to be even a possibility in the USA.

How about the UK banning fossil fueled vehicles by 2040? Is that a big enough incentive to develop and mass market EVs???

Tesla is not too far, still using old Lithium Ion batteries.. and still hasn't got the economies of scale.. traditional Car Companies like Toyota,, BMW., VW group can easily overtake Tesla... especially with Toyota with battery new battery tech...
I;m betting that tesla will be bought out by a chinese company in the future,,