Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda predicts battery electric vehicles will only ever capture 30 percent of the car market.
Hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell and gas-powered combustion engine cars will take the rest, he said during a press conference in Japan this month.
Customers want choice, the grandson of Toyota’s founder said – but he also pointed out that a billion people in the world don’t have any access to electricity.
As such, Toyoda – who was CEO from 2009 to 2023 – emphasized that Toyota is making various types of cars to suit the needs of different customers.
He pointed out that outspoken advocates of battery-only electric cars – potentially hinting at the likes of Tesla – have an all-or-nothing strategy, whereas Toyota has its eggs in in multiple baskets.
The chairman suggested that engine cars will ‘definitely remain’ and that the market should be determined by customers and not regulations or politics.
The executive also hit back at claims that Toyota is lagging in battery EV development, citing its broader successes and legacy of developing hybrid vehicles.
‘Thanks to the introduction of [hybrids] in Japan 20 to 30 years ago, Japan is the only developed country to have reduced CO2 emissions by 23 percent,’ he said, according to a transcript of the conference, shared by Toyota.
‘Japan has its own way of doing things. I don’t think the correct answer is to try to imitate the West in everything,’ he said.
Toyota was the first automaker to bring hybrid cars into the mainstream, starting with the Prius back in 2000.
Many Americans are skeptical about battery electric vehicles, largely due to fears around range and doubts around the infrastructure.
Range is not an issue with hybrid models, which are also powered by gas-burning engines.
Toyota has also become a leader in the development of hydrogen fuel cells, which offer an alternative means of powering electric vehicles to batteries.
Earlier this month, Toyoda also announced that the company was in the process of developing new combustion engines.
Toyoda stood down as CEO in April and was succeeded by Chief Branding Officer Koji Sato.
