Toyota sets net-zero record straight, again

TOYOTA Australia has attempted to put paid to growing criticism that the importer and its Japanese parent company have not moved quickly enough, or in significant enough quantities, to match the electric vehicle line-ups of its competitors.

Speaking to Australian media at Toyota’s former production facility in Altona while providing a preview of the bZ4X battery electric SUV that launches here next year, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, said he felt Toyota needed to once more defend its stance of the late arrival of EVs to market.

“I want to set the record straight once again about Toyota’s approach to carbon neutrality,” he emphasised.

According to Mr Hanley, it will take 15 years for battery supply and charging infrastructure to reach a point where battery electric vehicles are able to meet the needs of Toyota’s broad and diverse customer base.

He said Toyota believes a “broader range of electrified options” was necessary in meeting the needs of Aussie buyers – and right now that means hybrids, a technology Toyota has commercialised more successfully than any car-maker on Earth.

“We know the environment simply can’t wait (and) that is why we say it’s just too early and too risky to put all our eggs in the electric vehicle basket. The most responsible thing we can do right now to help our customers reduce their carbon emissions as much as possible and as soon as possible is to offer low-emissions solutions that meet their diverse needs,” he stressed.

“Toyota Australia is indeed contributing to the solution (and) once again, just to be very clear: Toyota is committed to bringing electric vehicles to Australia, in their thousands, within a few short years, and ultimately in their tens of thousands – and indeed more thereafter as we go on this journey.”

Mr Hanley said Toyota is well aware that electric vehicles will “play an ever-increasing role in helping us and our customers get to net zero carbon emissions”.

“It's never been a question of ‘will’ we do it – it’s a matter of ‘how’ we get there. And of course, there are challenges as we go on this journey.”

However, Mr Hanley maintained that the price and availability of electric vehicles in the new-car market, as well as the limited charging infrastructure currently offered to Australian buyers, remained unacceptable to most, particularly those in rural and remote regions.

For this reason, he said, Toyota would not rush forward to supply vehicles that did not suit the needs of its customers, irrespective of where they live or how they use their vehicle.

“Let me start with a sobering reality about some of the critical materials used to make battery cells. Lithium prices are currently around $100,000 per tonne, almost eight times higher than just two years ago, and driven mostly by accelerating demand, and an extended period of underinvestment in mines. This has led to a shortage of battery cells,” he explained.

“The second challenge we face here in Australia, and in other parts of the world, is that the charging infrastructure is seriously lacking. It's making current EV ownership a challenge, even with EV accounting for just 3.3 per cent of all new vehicles delivered in Australia last year.

“And the third challenge is that Australian vehicle owners are incredibly diverse: They live in areas with different energy supply mixes. They have access to very different levels of charging infrastructure and – this is the most important point – they use their vehicles in different ways.

“It's not just about those of us who live in the city. (There are) people whose livelihoods depend on their vehicles being able to tow and carry heavy loads – vehicles that are fit for purpose (and) we can't leave them behind on this journey to carbon neutrality.”

The animated public face of Toyota Australia said the company understood that challenges facing the new-car buying public were being addressed, but believed a true shift toward electrification, at least in Australia, was still at best 15 years away.

“There is no doubt all these challenges are being addressed, but they will take considerable time to overcome. In 15 years or so, we expect the output of mines and refineries to catch up with demand, and for recycling to play a part,” he detailed.

“As time goes by, we expect charging infrastructure to be powered by renewables and that battery technology will continue to improve. When all that occurs, EVs will be far more practical.”

Beating a familiar drum, Mr Hanley said once more that the contribution of petrol-electric hybrid vehicles to the reduction of greenhouse gases was not to be understated, highlighting the fact Toyota had sold over 315,000 hybrid-powered vehicles in Australia since the release of the first-generation Prius locally in 2001.

He said hybrid vehicles currently offer the best “bang for your buck” in reducing tailpipe emissions with the same volume of batteries used in all the hybrid models sold locally over the past 20 years equating to the same amount of battery material used in the construction of just 4500 battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

“Our hybrids kick above their weight, reducing carbon emissions by the same amount as approximately 95,000 EVs – in other words, hybrids enable us to utilise precious battery cells where they do the most good for the environment.

“But please take note: this does not mean that Toyota believes hybrids should be used instead of EVs everywhere and forever. Toyota is committed to electric vehicles … starting locally with the bZ4X we will launch before the end of the year and followed by at least three BEVs in the space of three years.”

Citing production delays, Mr Hanley said the Toyota bZ4X – developed in tandem with the Subaru Solterra and Lexus RZ – will be offered towards the end of this year and in the latest specification.

He said current indications are that supplies of the models would be well matched “to a market our size” and that customer interest in the Corolla Cross-sized SUV is “very positive”, pledging to match customer interest with appropriate supply as the end of the decade nears.

“I think we will see EV take-up accelerate significantly over the next seven years, and as that acceleration occurs, we will scale-up EV production and our EV offerings in this market,” he concluded.

The Toyota bZ4X will be available for purchase in the final quarter of 2023. Pricing and local specifications will be confirmed closer to the model’s on-sale date.

Visit GoAuto again soon for our local first drive review of the Toyota bZ4X.