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I hope they are successful on this. Japanese carmakers are really good and well-disciplined on building it with quality and also cheaply, I'm really excited ab

I hope they are successful on this. Japanese carmakers are really good and well-disciplined on building it with quality and also cheaply, I'm really excited about what they'll bring. I've always enjoyed Toyotas, I have one. Toyotas are always cheaper than the alternative and extremely reliable.

hijinks 3y ago
wouldnt hold your breathe.. they've been claiming solid state has been around the corner since like 2010
- thiago_fm 3y ago
  Still better than the kind of promises you'd get from Elon Musk, costing you 10K to get a FSD system to drive you into a wall. I like the fact that they show their intent without making you pay for it
  - robertlagrant 3y ago
    Well, he's also jump-started all of car electrification. I agree FSD is bad, but unless you paid for it, it's a weird thing to focus on given the bigger picture impact Tesla and Musk have had.
  - 1-6 3y ago
    “It’s better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is almost always right” Mark Twain
    - hef19898 3y ago
      And there is promising the moon and delivering a tennis ball, and that years late...
  - amalcon 3y ago
    I've got plenty of gripes with Musk -- not the least of which are Tesla's marketing of assistive driving technologies, which the folks there had to know would be misleading. I think this is somewhat unfair, though: that $10k is for a software unlock. Battery tech is hardware. Toyota can't charge extra for advanced batteries before said batteries are ready for mass production, for obvious reasons -- so they didn't really have the opportunity to engage in this kind of broken promise.
  - belltaco 3y ago
    Not sure how Toyota is better in any regard. The timeline has always been 3 to 4 years away and has been previously vaporware. On top of that they're lobbying hard spending a lot of money against government incentives against fossil fuels and pollution standards. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/14/toyota-shareholder-revolt/#:~:text=Toyota%20has%20lobbied%20against%20strict,efficacy%20of%20mild%20hybrids%20vs https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/14/toyota-shareholder-revo.... > Toyota has lobbied against strict fuel efficiency standards in Australia and worldwide and is one of the top three funders of lobbyists against 100% battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Various Toyota executives have sent mixed messages about the future ascendency of hydrogen-powered cars, the efficacy of mild hybrids vs. BEVs, and a future BEV strategy based on solid-state batteries. None of these technologies have proven their worth yet, and I wonder if these messages are merely a ploy for Toyota to maintain its current hybrid vehicle (HEV) dominance and profit margins.
- leke 3y ago
  Apparently BYD will be releasing one of its models with a sodium ion solid-state battery this year. That is, it's verified and working and ready to ship. First source link I could find on google. https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/byd-may-launch-first-sodium-ion-battery-electric-car-in-2023 https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/byd-may-launch-first-sodium...
  - AndrewDucker 3y ago
    Your link says "may" not "will", and is from December last year. I shall keep my fingers crossed that it does happen, but with no "They're actively being manufactured right now" news articles, I'm not hopeful that they'll be available to buy in the next two months.
- threeseed 3y ago
  I don't recall them ever saying it was right around the corner. Rather around the early-mid 2020s which has been impacted by COVID. I am always reluctant to bet against Toyota since they have a long history of delivering.
giancarlostoro 3y ago
My understanding is that some of the Toyota cars also use Lexus motors under the hood. It might say Toyota, but it's the same motor on a Lexus.
- jakewins 3y ago
  Well yeah, Lexus are Toyotas? It’s the brand name Toyota uses for their luxury cars
  - giancarlostoro 3y ago
    Yeah, I'm aware, though I've heard good things about the reliability of Lexus cars too. In all fairness, Lexus feels like the affordable Luxury car when you consider the price of other luxury cars.
- piva00 3y ago
  Lexus is a Toyota brand... Just like, for example, Audi and VW share technologies and components.
- AndrewDavis 3y ago
  And the reverse is true.
- dnsco 3y ago
  The Lexus brand was created to sell Americans expensive Toyotas, because when they entered the market there was an inherent perception of Japanese cars as cheap. Internationally a bunch of cars that have a Lexus badge in America have a Toyota badge on them.
- mrfox321 3y ago
  Lexus is Toyota. In Japan, they are branded as Toyota, hood symbol and all. They just market them differently in the West. The same thing goes for the Acura / Honda distinction.
  - giancarlostoro 3y ago
adrr 3y ago
Not all Japanese manufactures have great quality. Nissan/Infiniti had transmissions that were guaranteed to fail.
- amalcon 3y ago
  When people say "Japanese cars are high quality", they usually mean "Toyota and Honda". I agree it's weird. Though Nissan isn't really considered worse than GM or something in that range -- they're just pretty middle of the road.
m-p-3 3y ago
> Toyotas are always cheaper than the alternative From my last time shopping they weren't the cheaper at purchase time, but I do agree that they're reliable and I haven't spent a lot of money for repair so far, and when I do the parts aren't very expensive nor difficult to find. So I'd say the total cost of ownership is likely cheaper than the alternative, and they also hold their value well compared to other brands.
- Incipient 3y ago
  I don't think this includes any of the Chinese brands. They obviously have a cheaper cost base, arguably lower quality, and the government is keen to get more global market penetration so they're going to be a lot more competitive.

hijinks 3y ago

wouldnt hold your breathe.. they've been claiming solid state has been around the corner since like 2010

thiago_fm 3y ago
Still better than the kind of promises you'd get from Elon Musk, costing you 10K to get a FSD system to drive you into a wall. I like the fact that they show their intent without making you pay for it
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  Well, he's also jump-started all of car electrification. I agree FSD is bad, but unless you paid for it, it's a weird thing to focus on given the bigger picture impact Tesla and Musk have had.
- 1-6 3y ago
  “It’s better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is almost always right” Mark Twain
  - hef19898 3y ago
    And there is promising the moon and delivering a tennis ball, and that years late...
- amalcon 3y ago
  I've got plenty of gripes with Musk -- not the least of which are Tesla's marketing of assistive driving technologies, which the folks there had to know would be misleading. I think this is somewhat unfair, though: that $10k is for a software unlock. Battery tech is hardware. Toyota can't charge extra for advanced batteries before said batteries are ready for mass production, for obvious reasons -- so they didn't really have the opportunity to engage in this kind of broken promise.
- belltaco 3y ago
  Not sure how Toyota is better in any regard. The timeline has always been 3 to 4 years away and has been previously vaporware. On top of that they're lobbying hard spending a lot of money against government incentives against fossil fuels and pollution standards. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/14/toyota-shareholder-revolt/#:~:text=Toyota%20has%20lobbied%20against%20strict,efficacy%20of%20mild%20hybrids%20vs https://cleantechnica.com/2023/06/14/toyota-shareholder-revo.... > Toyota has lobbied against strict fuel efficiency standards in Australia and worldwide and is one of the top three funders of lobbyists against 100% battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Various Toyota executives have sent mixed messages about the future ascendency of hydrogen-powered cars, the efficacy of mild hybrids vs. BEVs, and a future BEV strategy based on solid-state batteries. None of these technologies have proven their worth yet, and I wonder if these messages are merely a ploy for Toyota to maintain its current hybrid vehicle (HEV) dominance and profit margins.
leke 3y ago
Apparently BYD will be releasing one of its models with a sodium ion solid-state battery this year. That is, it's verified and working and ready to ship. First source link I could find on google. https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/byd-may-launch-first-sodium-ion-battery-electric-car-in-2023 https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/byd-may-launch-first-sodium...
- AndrewDucker 3y ago
  Your link says "may" not "will", and is from December last year. I shall keep my fingers crossed that it does happen, but with no "They're actively being manufactured right now" news articles, I'm not hopeful that they'll be available to buy in the next two months.
threeseed 3y ago
I don't recall them ever saying it was right around the corner. Rather around the early-mid 2020s which has been impacted by COVID. I am always reluctant to bet against Toyota since they have a long history of delivering.

giancarlostoro 3y ago

My understanding is that some of the Toyota cars also use Lexus motors under the hood. It might say Toyota, but it's the same motor on a Lexus.

jakewins 3y ago
Well yeah, Lexus are Toyotas? It’s the brand name Toyota uses for their luxury cars
- giancarlostoro 3y ago
  Yeah, I'm aware, though I've heard good things about the reliability of Lexus cars too. In all fairness, Lexus feels like the affordable Luxury car when you consider the price of other luxury cars.
piva00 3y ago
Lexus is a Toyota brand... Just like, for example, Audi and VW share technologies and components.
AndrewDavis 3y ago
And the reverse is true.
dnsco 3y ago
The Lexus brand was created to sell Americans expensive Toyotas, because when they entered the market there was an inherent perception of Japanese cars as cheap. Internationally a bunch of cars that have a Lexus badge in America have a Toyota badge on them.
mrfox321 3y ago
Lexus is Toyota. In Japan, they are branded as Toyota, hood symbol and all. They just market them differently in the West. The same thing goes for the Acura / Honda distinction.
- giancarlostoro 3y ago

adrr 3y ago

Not all Japanese manufactures have great quality. Nissan/Infiniti had transmissions that were guaranteed to fail.

amalcon 3y ago
When people say "Japanese cars are high quality", they usually mean "Toyota and Honda". I agree it's weird. Though Nissan isn't really considered worse than GM or something in that range -- they're just pretty middle of the road.

m-p-3 3y ago

> Toyotas are always cheaper than the alternative From my last time shopping they weren't the cheaper at purchase time, but I do agree that they're reliable and I haven't spent a lot of money for repair so far, and when I do the parts aren't very expensive nor difficult to find. So I'd say the total cost of ownership is likely cheaper than the alternative, and they also hold their value well compared to other brands.

Incipient 3y ago
I don't think this includes any of the Chinese brands. They obviously have a cheaper cost base, arguably lower quality, and the government is keen to get more global market penetration so they're going to be a lot more competitive.