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While the article has a valid point, it misses the bigger picture (even though it highlights it): > "The main reason is simple. Jobs. Japanese manufacturers bu
by webmobdev 5y ago
While the article has a valid point, it misses the bigger picture (even though it highlights it):
> "The main reason is simple. Jobs. Japanese manufacturers buy parts from small family-owned businesses across Japan. Toyota has only about 70,000 employees in Japan but are indirectly responsible for the income of far more Japanese and foreign workers in Japan. It is well-known in the Japanese car industry that their record profit business model is based on the sweat and tears of hundreds of small underpaid parts manufacturers in the country."
The current internal combustion engine dominated automobile industry, and its ancillaries, are quite embedded in the current economy of Japan. (This is also very much true in India too, that has a similar successful automobile industry). Any economist / politician would be a fool to promote EV without first considering the impact of job losses and shutdown of these ancillary units on the economy (and both will happen because Electric Vehicles use much less parts).
I too think that moving to Hybrids first, is a more practical approach in such a scenario, especially for countries like India and Japan. While the benefits of EV are sound and needed, we still can't predict the long-term impact of completely moving to them - is there enough resources (e.g. lithium) to create enough batteries to meet the demand (batteries will need replacement)? Power generation is dirty, unless it is from renewable source like Solar or Wind (Nuclear and Hydel too, to a certain extent, despite the ecological consequences) - will we able to generate this extra power in a sustainable manner?
Moving to Hybrids first can give us real data on all these, and help better plan the future for a full EV migration.
- phicoh 5y agoI wonder how this will work if they can sell the hybrid cars only in Japan. A hybrid is a good idea as long as the ICE plus associated mechanics is cheaper than the bigger battery pack you need for a BEV. However, as soon as the battery pack is cheaper (and in many cases BEVs are already cheaper to run), your are out of the competition if you only offer hybrid in a market that desires BEVs.
- pornel 5y agoThese jobs will be lost anyway. It's only a matter of time, and then the question is are they going to be lost to Toyota's EVs, or foreign EVs? EVs are already cheaper per mile, and often have better TCO for new cars. When battery cost drops further, it will be a bad deal to pay extra for vehicles that carry an extra high-maintenance expensive-to-run engine. Especially that Japan likes Kei cars, which don't have space to waste.
- hulitu 5y agoThe price of electricity is going up.
- pornel 5y agoJapan also has high gas prices[1]. The ratio of gas to electricity price ends up being comparable to U.S., where EVs still come ahead. If it was about fuel prices, Toyota wouldn't promote hydrogen, which is even more expensive. [1] globalpetrolprices.com
- webmobdev 5y ago> These jobs will be lost anyway. Job lossess can be minimised with proper planning by the economists and the industry. For example, some of the ancillary units could be converted to serve the EV sector. The rest could be converted to other manufacturing industries. All this require time and proper planning by the government and industry leaders. > It's only a matter of time, and then the question is are they going to be lost to Toyota's EVs, or foreign EVs? Temporary protectionist measures can be taken to not allow foreign EVs until the Japanese automobile industry is ready to compete with them. And note that EV technology is not complex and is readily available. That is why Tesla and others try to differentiate themselves by offering "self-driving" tech in their EV.