Toyota's Reinert Talks 'Death Watch' on Three Electric Cars

[dpeilow]

Greentech Media | Toyota's Reinert Talks 'Death Watch' on Three Electric Cars

 

[TEG]

Gosh, he didn't seem very positive about fuel celled vehicles in "Who Killed the Electric Car", and now this?

Are they trying to suggest that the Prius is the only answer?

 

[WarpedOne]

>> Are they trying to suggest that the Prius is the only answer?

But ofcourse. When they have a full-electric to sell, they will sing a different tune though. Why give free credibility to competition? Where you're behind, spread FUD.

 

[stopcrazypp]

>> Are they trying to suggest that the Prius is the only answer?

But ofcourse. When they have a full-electric to sell, they will sing a different tune though. Why give free credibility to competition? Where you're behind, spread FUD.

How ironic this announcement came on the same day:
Toyota notices electric car bandwagon, jumps on - AutoblogGreen

From the article it sounds like Reinert's comments were not representative of Toyota Motor Company; they were purely his own opinion.

 

[Cobos]

In some ways I think at least the Toyota USA bosses prefer the status quo. They are in a position with the greenest image due to the Prius, and up unto recently they still sold almost as many full-size trucks as Priuses. Not to mention Toyota has a lot of experience with hybdrid drive and not that much with pure EV. They got scared with being behind on the EV and hybrid front before which gave us the Prius. Hopefully the CEO will get scared with Nissans, Thinks and Teslas success and jump on the pure EV bandwagon for real...

It is interesting to contrast these two statement and given on the same week


Cobos

 

[TEG]

Not to mention Toyota has a lot of experience with hybdrid drive and not that much with pure EV.

What of the Rav4-EV? Next to the EV1 it was considered the best of the last generation EVs (circa year 2000).

 

[graham]

In many ways, the RAV4 was superior to the EV1 -- it had similar if not greater range, and could seat 4 or 5.

 

[TEG]

EV1 was more aerodynamic, had better performance, and a more forward thinking "high tech" style. It was the only one that was built as a dedicated EV only chassis, not a retrofit of an existing chassis.

The RAV4 EVs biggest advantages were superior batteries, and more utility.

 

[Takumi]

EV1 was more aerodynamic, had better performance, and a more forward thinking "high tech" style. It was the only one that was built as a dedicated EV only chassis, not a retrofit of an existing chassis.

The RAV4 EVs biggest advantages were superior batteries, and more utility.

So you're implying the RAV4 EV was a mule?

 

[graham]

Toyota: Market wants hybrids, not sportscars - AutoblogGreen

Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter has spelled out the Japanese giant's future product portfolio to Automotive News, saying, "Personally, I would love to have a sporty car, but it is pretty clear what the market is looking for right now." So, just what is it that the market is looking for? Carter answers, "high-quality, fuel-efficient, low-impact-environment products."

So what he is saying is that people want a Tesla.

 

[SByer]

I think Toyota is backpedaling a bit because they didn't think far enough ahead on the Gen4 Prius and have whiffed with another wussy hybrid. It's barely going to be into it's sales cycle when it becomes clear that strong hybrid (which I define as being able to sustain 80mph electric only for 40 miles) or REEV is going to be a minimum for real eco-cred.

 

[TEG]

Yep. Being able to claim 100MPGe+ will make ~45MPG non-plug hybrids seems outdated.