Why Toyota is still ‘not sure’ about electric vehicles

Automotive giant maintains that ‘no one knows the future’, maintaining its investment in combustion-powered cars.

Toyota’s performance car boss is not bothered by electric cars that are faster and greener than the brand’s current line-up.

The Japanese giant has a broad range of enthusiast vehicles including the GR Yaris and Corolla hot hatches, an affordable coupe in the Toyota GR86, the rapid GR Supra performance coupe, and a range of less focused “GR Sport” models based on cars such as the LandCruiser and HiLux.

Toyota offers a broad range of performance cars, including the Supra, GR86 and GR Yaris.

None can match the acceleration of relatively affordable electric thrust of cars such as the MG4 X-Power, BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3 Performance.

Tomoya Takahashi, president of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division responsible for racing and performance cars, says “our target is not to make a fast car, our target is to make a fun car”.

Toyota Gazoo Racing company president Tomoya Takahashi.

“We want to make fun to drive cars,” he says.

“The fast car, and a good car [are] different.

“What we want to do is make ever-better cars.”

Unlike many rivals, Toyota hot hatches have a manual transmission and traditional handbrake.

Toyota has invested heavily in hydrogen-powered race cars as part of its research and development for future models.

The machines have high-performance turbocharged engines similar to what is found on road and track today, but the motors burn hydrogen instead of petrol.

Takahashi hopes that engines that burn fuel can continue to take part in motorsport, whether that fuel is based on carbon neutral e-fuels, liquid hydrogen, or another technology.

Toyota Gazoo Racing company president Tomoya Takahashi.

“In the future maybe there is some time engines will be banned,” he said.

“It’s not that the engine is bad, the carbon is bad.

“By using the hybrid technology we can reduce the carbon emissions …

or using carbon neutral fuels, like e- fuels, to reduce the carbon.

“What Toyota is saying, is the ICE [internal combustion engine] is not bad, the enemy is the carbon.”

Toyota’s Corolla racer uses a hydrogen powered internal combustion engine.

While some rivals are going all-in on electric tech, Takahashi says Toyota’s plan is to offer several types of propulsion in the future, “not only EV”.

“We are still not sure about electrification,” he says.

“We think globally there are discussions, that there are not going to be 100 per cent BEVs.

“No one knows the future – 10 years into the future – what’s going to happen? We don’t know.”

Toyota has hydrogen-powered racing and demonstration cars based on its GR Yaris and Corolla duo. It unveiled a racing concept car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year that could run in an upcoming class for hydrogen-powered machines with F1-rivalling pace.

Toyota’s GR H2 Racing Concept explores a future of hydrogen-powered racing.

At the time, then-Toyota chair Akio Toyoda said the car would appeal to traditional motorsport enthusiasts.

“The sound, the torque, the dynamics, it’s all there,” he said.

“Not only are we re-imagining the race car, we’re doing it with zero emissions.”

Takahashi said Toyota hoped to sell hydrogen-burning performance cars to the public.

“Of course we want to realise it in mass production and that’s why we are developing those motorsports, for hydrogen ICE [Internal Combustion Engines].

“We haven’t decided, or we are not the decision maker, if it’s suitable for motorsports or commercial vehicles like trucks and buses. The customer will decide.”

Toyota’s performance cars have been successful in Australia, with models attracting waiting lists and strong second-hand values.

The brand is rebooting the way cars are allocated to customers in Australia. Models will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis rather than being issued to dealers who decide which customers get cars.

Toyota’s GR Yaris has been updated with an auto transmission option.

Toyota’s performance car sales will get a boost this year with the addition of an automatic version of the GR Yaris hot hatch.

That car is expected to be followed by an automatic GR Corolla which has not been confirmed for production, though Takahashi says it may happen “if there is customer demand”.

Given that more than half of GR86 customers choose an auto, it’s easy to see the Corolla benefiting from a two-pedal option.

Originally published as Why Toyota is still ‘not sure’ about electric vehicles