AUTONEWS

Akio Toyoda still doesn’t see a future in electric cars

Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s chairman, has reignited the debate on the environmental impacts of electric cars by stating that they can pollute more than most people imagine.

In a recent interview, Toyoda said that the discourse surrounding electric vehicles often ignores fundamental aspects of the production chain and use of these automobiles.

“If we had produced 9 million electric cars in Japan, it would have increased carbon emissions, not reduced them,” he said. The reason, according to him, is simple: “That’s because Japan depends on thermal power plants to generate energy.”

This view is not new within Toyota, but it has been gaining more weight in light of the global pressure for a rapid transition to 100% electric vehicles.

For Toyoda, the central problem is not the type of engine — electric, hybrid or combustion — but rather the effective fight against carbon dioxide.

“When the term carbon neutrality became fashionable, we made it clear that the enemy is carbon,” he said. “We have to focus on what we can do immediately to reduce emissions. This logic is what guides our decisions. It hasn’t changed and it won’t change.”

Toyoda also pointed out that there is a misperception that electric vehicles are, in and of themselves, the ideal solution.

He argues that, in addition to the emissions generated in the production of batteries — a process that involves intensive mining of lithium and other rare materials — it is necessary to consider where the electricity used to recharge these cars comes from.

In countries like Japan, where the energy matrix is ​​still highly dependent on fossil fuels, an increase in the electric fleet can paradoxically mean an increase in total carbon emissions.

According to the executive, hybrid vehicles play an important role in this equation.

Toyota has already sold more than 27 million hybrids worldwide, and Toyoda argues that these models have helped to avoid emissions equivalent to those of 9 million electric vehicles.

However, unlike EVs, hybrids do not require drastic changes to the electrical infrastructure nor do they depend exclusively on external sources to operate. “They offer an immediate, scalable solution that is more suited to the reality of many countries,” he said. 

The executive emphasizes that Toyota will continue to invest in different technologies, such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells and even combustion engines powered by synthetic fuels. “It is not about choosing a winner, but about keeping all options open. 

What we are fighting is carbon dioxide,” he concluded. By questioning the environmental effectiveness of electric vehicles in certain regions, Toyoda challenges the prevailing consensus in the automotive industry. His position reignites the discussion about which path is truly the most sustainable in the short and medium term — and reinforces the thesis that total electrification may not be as clean as it seems, at least while the world's energy matrix is ​​still tied to fossil fuels.

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