Read the last paragraph of this article. https://chargedevs.com/features/2022-hyundai-ioniq-5-first-of-an-aggressive-wave-of-new-evs/ I found Toyota's respect for Hyundai very interesting. No question Hyundai's underlying technology with their new 800V E-GMP platform is way ahead of most other EV makers. I hope that means that Toyota's first BEV offering will be a blockbuster. They are definitely late to the game, but with their deep pockets (most profitable car maker), and reputation for quality and reliability, I am sure they won't disappoint.
I though I read somewhere Hyundai was having issues already with the battery. I am really looking forward to the Toyota BZ4X. Also they are getting close with solid state batteries which will reduce recharging times. I do like the Ioniq 5 styling better than the Kia EV6
I won't trust a Toyota EV for a long time. Their continuous put downs of EVs let's you know how much effort they are really going to put into the new bv483wjjifm Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk
Hyundai are a threat because they compete in the same price segments as Toyota. If Hyundai come out with competitive EV offerings there's greater change of Toyota customer cross shopping.
FWIW, Toyota are **** scared of autonomous driving technology progressing faster than they can. They're already trying to slow down regulations for self driving cars across the globe to give Toyota a chance to catch up.
Toyota has a very profitable franchise in Hybrids. They are afraid of cannibalizing that franchise, i.e. buyers of their EV would have been Prius buyers. They have a plug in hybrid, (Prius Prime), so technology wise they are very close. They need go from a plug in to a full BEV. They have the money, the marketing muscle, the dealer network and technology/manufacturing capabilities (including batteries). So they are not really very far behind except in their thinking and strategy. I am not doubting they have a lot of work to do, but they are not starting from scratch. Unfortunately (or fortunately for their competitors) they have this complacency, "we will can catch up very quickly, if we need to". However, every day that competitors have, they can increase the gap so it will harder run than Toyota envisages. However never underestimate Toyota. They are afraid of Hyundai, as Hyundai follows the Toyota playbook. They have battery capabilities, they have "reduce cost mentality" that Toyota has and they have a similar line of vehicles. Tesla may not consider a sub $30K car with a 250 mile range, but Hyundai will and if Toyota comes in, that may be where they aim.
Are you not aware of the RAV4 Prime.? That is their latest blockbuster,... and it is not cheap. They have already announced their first BEV offering, the BZ4X. Are you familiar with that one? It also will not be cheap, but quite likely another big blockbuster. Toyota knows what they are doing. Their reading of the market and timing is uncanny!!...
RAV4 Prime is an extension of they Hybrid franchise and it is not a BEV. So they do get expensive there. Now for their Beyond Zero (BZ) moniker is to be used for 15 BEVs by 2025. Now the first one, BZ4X, will be like the RAV4 in size which will be costlier. But knowing Toyota, they will go to the lower end very soon. They cannot have 15 BEVs all at the higher end. Some have to go to the lower end. You can look at the press release https://www.toyota.com/concept-vehicles/bz4x-concept/ They wait and see and hence they know when to move, and they do not believe they are that far behind.
Yes, that RAV4 is a PHEV, and is a blockbuster like I said, just like the Prius Prime was, and is still very popular. Toyota's big strength is their size and depth of experience, and reputation for quality. Glad to see them finally take the BEV step. Will be very interesting to see what the final product looks like. I suspect this has been in the works for some time, and they were waiting for the right time to release, and incorporate the very latest technology. Sure hope they go with 800V battery system.
I am sure that it has been in the works for a long time and they are futher along then they let out. You cannot have 15 BEV models in the next three years, unless you have a lot of work done already. Just not possible to do the design, testing, supply chain development, manufacturing readiness, dealer training etc. It must be going at least for a couple of years, when Toyota was publicly saying something but doing something internally.
Like Hyundai/Kia and the VW group they are taking the common EV platform approach. That will allow for many model variants, incl their luxury lines, with all the extra bling. I think where they are worried about Hyundai/Kia, is their lower cost structure, highly supported by the SK govt, almost like a govt corp. In Japan, they have a lot more competition to deal with, who share many of the same suppliers.
I've been to both Japan and SK on business. I noticed a clear diff in their corporate cultures. The Japanese are much more conservative and afraid of making mistakes. Whereas the SK companies are more willing to take risks and jump into new technologies. Hence Hyundai/Kia are now actually producing on their 3rd gen BEVs (Ioniq 5, etc). They made quite a few mistakes along the way, but they keep improving and progressing with the very latest technology (eg 800V). With Toyota, we are still waiting for their 1st gen BEV.
