If Toyota did not believe until then at all in the 100% electric car, now the firm has changed its tone. So much so that one of his spokespersons said that the Tesla Model Y is a true work of art. The manufacturer now wants to be inspired by it for its future electric vehicles.
Between Toyota and electric, the relationship has always been complicated. Indeed, The Japanese manufacturer has always shown some distrust towards this type of engine. His former boss, Akio Toyoda, now replaced by Koji Sato, had even said a few months before that ” electric is not the solution for everything”.
For hereople who work in the automotive industry are part of a silent majority » and this « ise questions the relevance of considering electric cars as the only option« .
change
In short, if the manufacturer has still decided to launch an electric model, the bZ4X, so as not to be left behind either, its beginnings have been rocky. In particular due to a concern related to the wheels being removed outright. This is already resolved and Toyota now wants to improve its SUV. The firm also introduced a sedan, the bZ3, and an electric pickup late last year. But without believing it too much, while the chief scientist had explained the reasons for this mistrust a few weeks ago.
But although Akio Toyoda has decided to leave the reins of the brand to his successor, things begin to change little by little. And even he seems to be going faster than expected. In fact, and as the site relates automotive news, Japanese engineers were recently able to discover the innards of the Tesla Model Y during a teardown session. A very common practice in the automotive industry, which allows a brand tosee what the competition is doing.
And there, unexpectedly, one of the manufacturer’s executives present at the scene said that the electric SUV was a true work of art under its body. An amazing statement, to say the least, when we know how much Toyota previously opposed the electric car., which wouldn’t be much cleaner than the hybrid. Now, the manufacturer wants to develop its range of electric models, as recently announced by Koji Sato.
And when analyzing the American SUV, the brand’s teams realized that they still have a lot of work to do. In fact, they noticed many advantages in Tesla, such as remote updates, the dedicated platform or the optimized battery. Not to mention the production sites dedicated exclusively to the assembly of electric models. Everything that Toyota does not have.
a new platform
But the engineers of the Japanese brand now intend to catch up, while it intends to sell one million electric cars in the world by 2030 with Lexus. Therefore, this will first go through the development ofa new dedicated platform, which should see the light of day in 2026. In the meantime, the current e-TNGA will be used. The manufacturer should also be inspired by Tesla, whose models have a very simple design, which then allows to reduce costs and increase margins.
It is also for this reason that Elon Musk’s firm was able to operate such a strong price drop last January on its electric SUV and on the Model 3. According to Toyota, its American rival would have removed several hundred parts and almost a hundred kilos. However, we know this is of the utmost importance, while cables that are too long on the Mustang Mach-E cost Ford $300 per car.
Toyota will also need to work to reduce the cost of batteries, which account for about 40% of the car’s total price and 80% of the total materials. For now, the brand uses a battery with NCM technology (nickel-cobalt-manganese) supplied by Panasonic. The solution would then be to adopt cheaper LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) batteries, as is being prepared by the Stellantis and Ford group, which is building a factory in the United States with the Chinese giant CATL.
If the Japanese firm admits that it is not yet ready to compete with certain rivals, such as BYD, in terms of battery costs, it will announce it soon. signing a new partnership with a cell manufacturer. Meanwhile, Toyota is rumored to be taking a break from developing some vehicles in its bZ lineup, in order to have more time to rework its approach for years to come. One thing is for sure, this family will not be left behind and therefore should be further expanded.
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