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The Japanese auto makers are also against EVs in favor of hydrogen because Japan’s economy is driven by conglomerates who make a lot of money building heavy mac

The Japanese auto makers are also against EVs in favor of hydrogen because Japan’s economy is driven by conglomerates who make a lot of money building heavy machinery etc which are better served by hydrogen than electricity. As a result the Japanese carmakers have shied from investing in EVs since the soft edict from top was to build hydrogen instead. It’s not a coincidence that the first Japanese car company that jumped right into EVs was Nissan when it was being headed by Ghosn, who isn’t Japanese himself. (The Prius doesn’t count…that was Toyota’s answer to CA’s requirements, and was wildly successful beyond what they expected. The fact that Toyota hardly built on the Prius brand for 2 decades tells one all they need to know about how the Japanese automakers staying away from EVs isn’t just a business decision, but is being driven by other considerations).

robocat 4y ago
> The Prius doesn’t count…that was Toyota’s answer to CA’s requirements That sounded a bit US-centric - so I did a quick Google and found that belief is incorrect: Sales in Japan were extremely strong from the outset, buoyed by Prius winning Japan’s Car of the Year award for 1998. By May 2000 more than 40,000 units had been sold and production capacity was increased to 3,000 a month in anticipation of its arrival in refreshed form (XW11 chassis) in export markets. Initial testing in the U.S., in 1999, before release to the general public nearly sidelined the Prius before its debut. The few drivers involved in the testing were less than impressed. That, combined with no way to determine a viable buyer market for the Prius, almost halted the car’s journey outside of Japan. [USA 2000]Nevertheless, the Prius caught on. Toyota was pleasantly surprised that sales the first year exceeded projections and when some Hollywood stars took notice (and purchased the vehicles), things only go better. Edit: Wow - buoyed US pronunciation: https://youtu.be/sx419urqnkE?t=460 https://youtu.be/sx419urqnkE?t=460 - found using https://youglish.com/ https://youglish.com/ cf. buoyancy

robocat 4y ago

> The Prius doesn’t count…that was Toyota’s answer to CA’s requirements That sounded a bit US-centric - so I did a quick Google and found that belief is incorrect: Sales in Japan were extremely strong from the outset, buoyed by Prius winning Japan’s Car of the Year award for 1998. By May 2000 more than 40,000 units had been sold and production capacity was increased to 3,000 a month in anticipation of its arrival in refreshed form (XW11 chassis) in export markets. Initial testing in the U.S., in 1999, before release to the general public nearly sidelined the Prius before its debut. The few drivers involved in the testing were less than impressed. That, combined with no way to determine a viable buyer market for the Prius, almost halted the car’s journey outside of Japan. [USA 2000]Nevertheless, the Prius caught on. Toyota was pleasantly surprised that sales the first year exceeded projections and when some Hollywood stars took notice (and purchased the vehicles), things only go better. Edit: Wow - buoyed US pronunciation: https://youtu.be/sx419urqnkE?t=460 https://youtu.be/sx419urqnkE?t=460 - found using https://youglish.com/ https://youglish.com/ cf. buoyancy