<
https://thedriven.io/2023/01/30/toyota-faces-disaster-unless-new-ceo-performs-miracle-pivot-to-electric-vehicles/>
"The world’s largest automaker made two major announcements last week which
signal that it finally recognises that the future is electric. But it may be
too little too late for the company that revolutionised manufacturing half a
century ago.
The first announcement was that Toyota would develop a dedicated EV platform
after its disastrous half-hearted attempt with the BZ4X.
The BZ4X design, which shared its platform with petrol and hybrid cars, meant
its first fully electric offering had redundant components that resulted in
much higher manufacturing costs compared to Toyota’s “clean slate” EV
competitors.
Japanese newspaper
The Asahi Shimbun reported Toyota doesn’t expect to launch
its EV range until 2027-28. At the rate at which global EV market share is
growing, Toyota will be lucky to retain a tenth of its 10 million unit market
share in major market on that timeframe.
The second announcement made last week was that Toyota’s CEO, Akio Toyoda will
stand down in April to make way for a new generation for the company.
“The new team can do what I can’t do,” he said in a statement. ”I now need to
take a step back in order to let young people enter the new chapter of what the
future of mobility should be like.”
The grandson of Toyota’s founder Kiichiro Toyoda, Akio has received a barrage
of criticism in recent years for his failure to identify the world’s shift to
EVs while pouring billions of dollars into white elephant technologies like
hydrogen.
In the 1970s, Toyota led a manufacturing revolution that changed the world. 50
years on and the automotive giant has grown complacent, taking its market
dominance for granted and developing a false sense of security."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-tropical-diseases-womens-china-miyawaki-amazon/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
