Toyota Motor’s chief scientist on Thursday stated that due to scarce resources, battery electric vehicles cannot be the auto industry’s sole response to climate change.
He cautioned that emphasis on BEVs could lead to some drivers continuing to use polluting automobiles.
Some investors and environmental groups have long chastised Toyota for being sluggish to adopt BEVs, claiming that it has trailed behind Tesla and others despite rising global demand.
The world’s largest manufacturer by sales has replied that BEVs are only one alternative and that gasoline-electric hybrids, such as the pioneering Prius, are a more viable option for some markets and drivers.
Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, told reporters that BEVs might help reduce climate change in nations like Norway, which has a lot of renewable infrastructure.
Toyota, which aims to sell 1.5 million battery-powered vehicles by 2026 and introduce ten new fully electric models, has long maintained that achieving carbon neutrality will necessitate the usage of hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.
