Volvo has committed to offering an electrified version of every car in its lineup from 2019 on. Tesla is 100% electric, anyway, showing even more commitment to the coming electric future. And, if there was any doubt left in your mind that it is going to be electric- not CNG, not ethanol, not hydrogen fuel cells, and not even hybrid- that is going to win this war, consider this: Toyota will offer an electric version of every model it sells from 2025.
That’s right. A mere three years after giving up on battery electric vehicles to focus its attention on hybrids and hydrogen, Toyota seems to have done an about-face. USA Today is reporting that “Toyota could become Tesla’s next big headache” after a December 18th announcement from the Japanese automaker that it has plans to offer “an electrified option” for every one of its Toyota and Lexus models.
Sure, the fine print actually reads that “electrified options include all-electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell, or hybrid,” but this is from a company that, in 2015, had a head of R&D who said stuff like, “The cruising distance is so short for EVs, and the charging time is so long. At the current level of technology, somebody needs to invent a Nobel Prize-winning type battery.”
That was then, it seems. As for now, it looks like Toyota wants to be a little more “Tesla competitive” in the coming years. At least when it comes to PR, anyway.
What do you guys think? Is the company that spent twenty years leading the hybrid cause to the mainstream finally ready to get behind electric cars, or is this just a shameless grab for attention in a world that has already decided it’s not going to buy into Toyota’s proposed hydrogen future? Let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
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