To outside observers, it would seem that Toyota is running late to the EV party, but its tardiness isn’t a misstep. The Japanese automaker just this year announced it’d introduce two battery-electric vehicles, which is in stark contrast to other automakers that have laid out ambitious plans to electrify their entire lineups. That type of change won’t be coming to Toyota anytime soon as the company isn’t ready to focus only on electric cars.
Toyota’s reluctance to focus solely on EVs isn’t only about the uncertainty in the nascent market as there are environmental concerns, too. According to Automotive News, which was privy to the annual shareholder meeting where Toyota discussed its hesitancy to go all-in on EVs, Toyota is looking at the “whole lifecycle” of a vehicle in regards to reducing carbon emissions as there are some studies that indicate producing EVs and their batteries release more emissions than those from tailpipes.
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