Automakers that don’t meet the environmental standards of countries and want to avoid problems with regulators are forced to buy so-called regulatory credits from other companies that meet the requirements — for example, from Tesla, which produces exclusively electric cars (Elon Musk’s company earned $9 billion on this).
Toyota’s CEO doesn’t seem to share the public’s enthusiasm for electric cars, as he believes they will account for only 30% of the US new car market in 2030 (about half of the target the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sought to achieve last year).
As the largest hybrid carmaker in the automotive industry, Toyota prefers to continue to buy credits to meet regulatory requirements rather than «waste» money on battery electric vehicles, according to CEO Ted Ogawa’s comments to Automotive News.
«I know that the EPA is currently reviewing what the level of regulation should be. However, again, our starting point is consumer demand. So, for example, the 2030 rules state that the majority of the new car market should be BEVs, but our current plan is about 30%,» Ogawa said.
The company is currently building a $13.9 million battery facility in North Carolina, whose products will be used in its electric vehicles and hybrids sold in North America. Since 2021, Toyota has invested about $17 billion in its U.S. manufacturing operations to build mostly hybrids.
Toyota is now one of the best-selling automakers, but electric vehicles accounted for less than 1% of total sales last year.
«Of course, compared to Tesla, we are lagging behind. However, we are catching up not only with the product, but also with the BEV ecosystem — such as home charging or energy management», Ogawa added.