Once the world leader in clean driving technology, Toyota has slipped behind competitors and now stands accused of seeking to slow the industry’s transition.
“But the only direction I received was to ‘make a 21st century car’. So, I thought we needed to create a clear vision first.
But tucked behind its rear seat was a powerful nickel-metal hydride battery pack and in a staggeringly short development period, its engineers had solved the complex problems that arose in constructing a drive train that slashed fuel use by constantly alternating between the use of electricity and petrol.
Instead, Toyota stands accused of using its lobbying might around the world, and in Australia, to delay the transition. It’s a charge Toyota vehemently rejects. “We haven’t sought to delay anything,” says Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia’s vice president of sales and marketing. In 2021, Toyota declined to join a pledge signed by six major car makers, including General Motors and Ford, to phase out fossil-fuel cars by 2040, saying not all parts of the world would be ready to transition by then.
, Lander oversees a pension system with $US253 billion in assets under management, including around $140 million worth of Toyota shares., AkademikerPension, the $20 billion Danish fund; Sweden’s largest pension fund AP7, the $120 billion Nordic asset manager; and the Church of England, which held a combined $300 million shares in Toyota as of 2021, have all voiced their concerns about Toyota’s lobbying.
To meet them, makers ramp up sales of clean cars to offset emissions from their more polluting models.As a result, those companies with a broad range of battery-only vehicles – such as Chinese, European and increasingly US car makers – have a distinct advantage over Toyota, with its range of hybrids.
The chamber’s chief executive, Tony Weber, rejects the suggestion as “D-grade bullshit”, but acknowledges the group’s larger members “cross-subsidise” its smaller ones. He said that Toyota Australia president and chief executive Matthew Callachor serves as chair of the chamber because he was elected to that position by the board.
But he said Toyota understood that because Australia was adopting standards later than other markets, “our rate of improvement will need to be relatively aggressive on the path towards net zero”.
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