The bz4x was a disaster that I can hardly believe Toyota would deliberately tarnish its name with. I normally wouldn’t say this about Toyota but yeah, I’m taking the “show me” approach to any Toyota EV right now.
I can. They built it so they could be compliant in markets with zero-emissions mandates, so they can continue to sell all other cars without penalty. It was a compliance product and compliance products are always done half-hearted with minimal effort and cost to the corporate bottomline. They also built it the way it was so they could say, "see? we were right, customers don't want EVs." And now, while they still don't believe in EVs, there is enough consumer demand for them to at least try and make v2.0 better than the original. But I still wouldn't expect it to be a great EV.
I guess they improved on the Bz, but yeah their EVs have been lackluster. Some Japanese automakers seem obsessed with hydrogen power and have fallen behind on EVs. It’s a shame.
I’ve heard the compliance car argument on some cars before, but I don’t think Toyota needed one in any of the markets it was selling in. Admittedly, I didn’t do a ton of digging on it though.
Because, despite selling cars all over the world, control of business operations and mindset remain Japan-first. It's an island nation with limited mineral deposits needed for battery production. Their grid is also not very well suited for electric vehicle charging. It's a 50/60 Hz frequency split and at 200V. High-density housing also make private charging difficult. And public fast charging is uncommon. EVs account for only 1.6~2% of total sales in 2025. They are surrounded by sea water they could desalinate and also make hydrogen with, but that takes a lot of energy and even that was never really solved. So, looking towards development China, now their excuse is "solid state is the way if we're going to do it at all".
Size of a car company doesn't give them exemption. I have worked for 3 Japanese OEMs now.
Strong disagree. We are way cooler than any auto exec from any company.
Toyota is yesterday’s technology at today’s prices. Good thing they don’t care what I think because I think they are trash.
I'd even say tomorrow's prices. And they can get away with it because they have a large captive audience willing to pay it, to have cars they don't have to think much about. I mean, that is why the brand's slogan is "we make it easy". For people who have never owned an EV, they think they have to move mountains to make the transition.
I think Toyota holds the record for most press releases per SSB.
