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Carmakers are pushing the most expensive high margin vehicles for electrification in general. It's frustrating if you care about the end goal of getting carbon

Carmakers are pushing the most expensive high margin vehicles for electrification in general. It's frustrating if you care about the end goal of getting carbon emissions drastically down in a reasonable time frame. Lower end vehicles and the used vehicle market are super important to meet that goal.

Animats 4y ago
Yes. Electric is being framed as "premium". The electric Jeeps and Ford F-150 trucks are all loaded down with "luxury" stuff and have price tags in the $60K and up range. Toyota finally replaced their hydrogen-oriented CEO with an electric vehicle guy. Old CEO: "Toyoda reiterated that he does not believe all-electric vehicles will be adopted as quickly as policy regulators and competitors think, due to a variety of reasons. He cited lack of infrastructure, pricing and how customers’ choices vary region to region as examples of possible roadblocks."[1] New CEO: "To deliver attractive BEVs to more customers, we must streamline the structure of the car, and — with a BEV-first mindset — we must drastically change the way we do business, from manufacturing to sales and service".[2] Toyota management is scared. The Toyota Corolla, their best selling car, is being out-sold in California by Tesla. That wasn't supposed to happen. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/toyota-ceo-akio-toyoda-electric-vehicles-happy-dance.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/toyota-ceo-akio-toyoda-elect... [2] https://archive.is/cBps9 https://archive.is/cBps9
- r00fus 4y ago
  > The Toyota Corolla, their best selling car, is being out-sold in California by Tesla. That wasn't supposed to happen. I was given a '23 Corolla from a rental agency, and I can say it was a complete disappointment in a way that other random rentals were not. 1) No CarPlay/app integration standard. 2) Horrendous dash geometry and overall interface. 3) Incredibly annoying and non-intuitive lane-keeping alert. Perhaps Toyota should develop cars that don't suck. Disclaimer: I have owned 4 Toyotas in the past and own an older Toyota currently. I had brand loyalty till about 10 years ago.
pdonis 4y ago
> Carmakers are pushing the most expensive high margin vehicles for electrification in general. From the standpoint of this discussion, the key point is that they are pushing the least fuel efficient vehicles for electrification in general. > It's frustrating if you care about the end goal of getting carbon emissions drastically down in a reasonable time frame. This is backasswards. If you want to reduce carbon emissions, replacing a full size SUV with an electric equivalent is going to save you more than replacing a compact sedan with an electric equivalent.

Animats 4y ago

Yes. Electric is being framed as "premium". The electric Jeeps and Ford F-150 trucks are all loaded down with "luxury" stuff and have price tags in the $60K and up range. Toyota finally replaced their hydrogen-oriented CEO with an electric vehicle guy. Old CEO: "Toyoda reiterated that he does not believe all-electric vehicles will be adopted as quickly as policy regulators and competitors think, due to a variety of reasons. He cited lack of infrastructure, pricing and how customers’ choices vary region to region as examples of possible roadblocks."[1] New CEO: "To deliver attractive BEVs to more customers, we must streamline the structure of the car, and — with a BEV-first mindset — we must drastically change the way we do business, from manufacturing to sales and service".[2] Toyota management is scared. The Toyota Corolla, their best selling car, is being out-sold in California by Tesla. That wasn't supposed to happen. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/toyota-ceo-akio-toyoda-electric-vehicles-happy-dance.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/toyota-ceo-akio-toyoda-elect... [2] https://archive.is/cBps9 https://archive.is/cBps9

r00fus 4y ago
> The Toyota Corolla, their best selling car, is being out-sold in California by Tesla. That wasn't supposed to happen. I was given a '23 Corolla from a rental agency, and I can say it was a complete disappointment in a way that other random rentals were not. 1) No CarPlay/app integration standard. 2) Horrendous dash geometry and overall interface. 3) Incredibly annoying and non-intuitive lane-keeping alert. Perhaps Toyota should develop cars that don't suck. Disclaimer: I have owned 4 Toyotas in the past and own an older Toyota currently. I had brand loyalty till about 10 years ago.

pdonis 4y ago

> Carmakers are pushing the most expensive high margin vehicles for electrification in general. From the standpoint of this discussion, the key point is that they are pushing the least fuel efficient vehicles for electrification in general. > It's frustrating if you care about the end goal of getting carbon emissions drastically down in a reasonable time frame. This is backasswards. If you want to reduce carbon emissions, replacing a full size SUV with an electric equivalent is going to save you more than replacing a compact sedan with an electric equivalent.