√Toyota slams electric-car extremism, says no motorists should be left behind

In a rare outburst, the sales and marketing boss of Toyota Australia has slammed electric-car extremism – the view that battery-powered cars are the only way forward – and said no motorists should be left behind on the road to reducing motor vehicle emissions.

The sales and marketing boss of Toyota Australia delivered has an unscripted spray at electric-car extremism overnight – and doubled down on the company’s position that motorists will need a choice of what powers their vehicles in the future.

One of the most senior executives at the company, Sean Hanley, went off script while addressing motoring media at the Australian debut of the new Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid SUV in Sydney.

After delivering a carefully-worded speech, the high-ranking industry veteran was asked about Toyota’s position on electric cars, after the Japanese car giant – which is also the world’s biggest automaker by annual sales – was criticised earlier this year for being slow to introduce zero-emissions vehicles.

While some industry analysts believe Toyota has been idling in the electric-car race, the automaker has a history of not rushing into new technologies or emerging market segments until it has done its homework, and typically takes a cautious approach to the automotive business.

“Toyota is not opposed to battery-electric vehicles,” said Mr Hanley as the stepped away from the lectern to get closer the audience of a dozen or so motoring media.

“We believe that to get to carbon neutrality, you have to take everyone on the journey. You have to have a solution for the market you’re operating in.

“In the market we operate in, we believe right now that the solution is a diversity of products and powertrains (engines).

“We’ll have battery-electric vehicles for some customers who’ll want that in town, we’ll have hybrid-electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

“By 2030 every Toyota in our range, apart from GR performance cars, will have some form of electrification.”

However, Mr Hanley noted: “We believe that you have to have a diverse range of technologies to get there. The point is this: carbon is the enemy here, not the powertrain.

“We are in full support of some mandated type of legislation around (emissions reductions). The one thing everybody agrees with … is we have to get to a carbon-neutral position.

“Toyota is not arguing the toss on that. That’s not a debate. Even with the most extreme viewpoint, we agree you’ve got to get to carbon neutral.

“What we’re disagreeing on is … how and when you get there.”

Mr Hanley then appeared to amp up his frustration with electric-car lobby groups that believe battery-powered vehicles are the only way forward.

“To be honest, some of this belief that you can just go full electric in 10 years in this country and satisfy the … owners and what they want to do with cars, is a very difficult proposition.

“So therefore, (we say) a diversity of technologies that takes everybody on the journey is a way of getting to (lower vehicle emissions).”

In a rare display of candour for the conservative company – which normally scripts every word and rarely mentions rivals – Mr Hanley continued: “In October 2001, how many car companies were even talking about battery-electric cars, and how many of them launched hybrids?

“I’ll help you answer it: two. Honda Insight, on and off the market for various reasons twice, pulled out of the market,” as he noted Toyota is the only car maker to have continuously sold hybrid cars in Australia since 2001.

“But of course now (electric cars) have suddenly become trendsetting. Well, I’d suggest we played a role in reducing carbon (emissions) 21 years ago, not three years ago when it became trendy.

“You know what? I’ll give you another story. I’ll take you to Altona (Toyota’s Melbourne engineering head quarters) one day. I’ll see you out the front, I will show you on the right-hand side, ladies and gentlemen, that’s a hydrogen refuelling centre that we own, in our plant, in our facility.

“In (another) facility – the Toyota parts centre – there’s a hybrid forklift rolling around. And by the way, if you go to the other shed, there’s an autonomous forklift going around.

“And it doesn’t stop there. That’s a couple of Mirai fuel cell vehicles that we’re selling. There is one in Western Australia running around as a police car.

“And, by the way, last week … there was a Toyota hydrogen bus on display in Sydney.”

As Toyota’s media minders edged closer to wrap up the question-and-answer session, Mr Hanley boomed: “We’re not standing in the way of electrification, we just wanted to let you know what is happening.

“We are the only car company that represents 30 per cent of our sales that are hybrid right now. That is playing a role in reducing (emissions).

“What other car company can stand up in front of each one of you right now and give you that lowdown in Australia?

“The point I’m trying to make here is: what aren’t you seeing that I’m seeing? Toyota is not stopping, lagging, or preventing (electric cars).”

The outburst was likely a build-up of frustration because Toyota believes it does not get credit for the significant emissions reductions its hybrid vehicles have delivered over the past 21 years.

Toyota has now sold more than 300,000 hybrid cars in Australia over two decades, effectively halving the emissions of all those vehicles.

It took Toyota more than 17 years – until April 2019 – to deliver a cumulative total of 100,000 hybrid-electric vehicles in Australia.

But it took just over three years to deliver the next 200,000 hybrids – clocking up the 300,000th sale in Australia earlier this month.

Toyota says, based on its calculations, the emissions reductions of three hybrid vehicles are “almost equal” to that of one electric car.

“The 300,000 hybrids we’ve sold so far are equivalent to the CO2-reduction effect of introducing approximately 90,000 (electric vehicles) to the market,” said Mr Hanley.

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