Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda has predicted that battery-powered electric vehicles will only make up 30% of the global market share.
Petrol-powered cars – as well as hybrid and hydrogen fuel vehicles – will make up the rest of the market, Toyoda told a business event earlier this month, according to reports in the Telegraph.
He stated that “engines will surely remain,” adding that limiting consumer choices and ability to travel by making cars more expensive is not the answer.
“Customers — not regulations or politics — should make that decision,” he said.
New AutoMotive chief executive Ben Nelmes has since countered the argument, saying Toyoda’s prediction has “already been proven wrong”.
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“Six European countries saw battery electric vehicles account for more than 30% of sales in 2023, and if we look at the sales of EVs in China – the world’s largest car market – the country looks set to break that barrier in the near future,” Nelmes said.
“All major car manufacturers need to make sure they do not fall behind in the shift to electric vehicles, so I would gently advise Akio Toyoda to check the numbers and make sure that his company is keeping pace with this global transition.”
Toyota has been increasing its innovation in hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.
Last year, the car manufacturer unveiled of a prototype hydrogen fuel cell electric Hilux, another milestone in its progress towards a zero-carbon future.
Earlier this year, campaign group Badvertising slammed the carmaker following revelations that it had been lobbying the government to delay the ZEV mandate. At the time, Badvertising calculated that Toyota plans to sell 110 million internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2040.
