Toyota entered the era of electric vehicles late, when only this year it launched its first electric model bZ4X.
According to the five-year plan that it revealed a year ago, Toyota stated that in the coming years it will present 15 electric models in a variety of categories and configurations, most of them based on an electric platform called e-TNGA on which the bZ4X is also based, and to reach a production goal of 3.5 million electric cars per year by the end of the decade.
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But as of now, Toyota's plans are expected to be delayed, and not only because of the bZ4X recall that caused a marketing interruption for several months.
According to a report in 'Automotive News', Toyota has currently suspended work on some of the future electric models because the production costs and the level of performance provided by the Toyota platform do not catch up with the accelerated development rate of other electric models in the automotive industry.
The reason for this is that, due to Toyota's late entry into the electric race, the e-TNGA platform it presented is not a dedicated platform designed off the shelf for electric cars, but a conversion of its well-known modular platform to suit electric propulsion.
The use of a hybrid platform makes it impossible to implement new innovations and developments designed to improve the range and efficiency of the electric drive system and batteries and in fact limits Toyota's ability to deal with the reality in which it is already lagging behind, in particular against some huge Chinese manufacturers such as BYD.
According to the report, already at the beginning of 2023, Toyota will present an updated work plan at its supplier conference with new and more realistic goals, as well as a promise to develop and be based on a dedicated electric platform that it will develop.
This is the place to point out that Toyota believes in the development of additional drive methods such as hybrid drive and fuel cell in parallel with the electric drive technology.
At the Kanshiki conference that the company recently held, it stated that "the right solution is to provide a wide range of propulsion options, in order to reduce air pollution now.
Pollution is the enemy, not the unit of power"
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