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Toyota Falling Behind Rivals in Race to Go Electric

topneuro submitted on 8/19/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 11:17:32 PM

9 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.nytimes.com

TOKYO — Despite Toyota’s image as the world’s greenest automaker, the company that brought us the Prius — totem of the environmentally conscious — has fallen behind in the race for the all-electric car.

Mitsubishi Motors started leasing its all-electric vehicle, the i-MiEV, in June. Next year, Nissan Motor is set to release its electric car, the Leaf. But Toyota does not plan to introduce an all-electric car until 2012. Instead, later this year, it plans to introduce a plug-in electric-gasoline hybrid, and only a few hundred initially.
“Why is Toyota waiting on electric cars?” asked Tadashi Tateuchi, a former race car designer turned electric-car evangelist.
Electric technology could help determine winners and losers in the auto industry of the future, but Toyota has been highly skeptical of electrical vehicles.

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Toyota Falling Behind Rivals in Race to Go Electric

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topneuro

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User Comments

Badgewhore

I don't think so, they've got a secret weapon in the works, when it comes out, all other electric will be obsolete. Their break through in Litium Ion battery should give the dumbarse who wrote this story a good whoopin.

— Badgewhore (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 12:12:11 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

inspirion7

And boy I got a great tactile feel for you. Its a tazzer Badgewhore and this is what you and Toyota will feel the day you wake the hell up and realize the world has moved beyond the Prius type of environmental vehicles. Toyota didn't have a clue and like Sony and the Beta VCR, they want to hold on to what works for them and milk it for all they can. It is easy for you to believe in a lie even it there isn't anything to back it up, "oh duh Toyota will have a break thru to make electric obsolete" like what the two-stroke you do because that is all there is, they are strokin' you.

— inspirion7 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 12:38:47 AM | | Votes: 1   

Badgewhore

The world currently has nothing in the pipeline to even challenged Toyota's simple hybrid system, so once you put the crack pipe down, reality is really going to give you a good arse whoopin.

— Badgewhore (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 3:35:34 PM | | Votes: 1   

WorldofLuxury

The article seems awfully confident in what its saying...

— WorldofLuxury (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 1:41:37 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

t_bone

As much as I'd love for Toyota to jump in now (as it would speed up the industry), I have to admit it is a smart business move.

What no one says about electrics is that they are so simple, so modular, that building one is practically a trivial task. So they are just waiting for the right price/performance on batteries and then they can overtake smaller players who got in earlier without any impact to their business.

— t_bone (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 9:21:58 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

theoptimisticpessimist

"Germany Commits To 1 Million Electric Cars On The Road By 2020"

http://www.autospies.com/news/Germany-Commits-To-1-Million-Electric-Cars-On-The-Road-By-2020-47120/

— theoptimisticpessimist (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 12:39:08 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

topneuro

USA projections for electric vehicles:
http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7749.htm

England projections for electric vehicles:
http://blog.whizzgo.co.uk/index.php/2009/04/17/governments-electric-car-plans-revealed/

Portugal projections for electric vehicles:
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/has-portugal-solved-the-electric-car-problem/Content?oid=1120712

— topneuro (View Profile)

Posted on 8/20/2009 12:54:02 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

huu76

If the electricity comes from a coal powerplant, the electrical vehicle is no greener than a hybrid.

When they make an electrical vehicle that has a range greater than 40km, the results might actually match the hype.

The AirCar would actually be cleaner than an electric vehicle since air already exists, you just need to compress it. Range is about the same.

When/if the plug-in Prius is produced, it'll do what electric cars do but will have a realistic range when required.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2009 10:59:14 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

huu76

Toyota also has a hydrogen SUV but that's another story I don't feel like getting into right now.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 8/21/2009 11:00:24 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

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