In the United States, the world’s second-largest automobile market based on vehicle sales, hybrid vehicles (HVs) are attracting attention as they replace electric vehicles (EVs), which the government is focusing on promoting. As the EV shift, which had been progressing worldwide, began to show signs of suddenly slowing down, Toyota Motor Corporation and its chairman Akio Toyoda, who had shown a skeptical attitude towards EVs, were highly praised, saying, “Maybe he was right after all.” Voices that do so are becoming more and more widespread.
Europe has a policy of making all new cars zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) such as EVs by 2035, and in 2023 the U.S. government will provide tax credits of up to $7,500 to EV buyers. Bushu has decided to convert all new vehicles to ZEVs in the future. The EV shift was also a global trend, with Japan also announcing a policy to make all new cars electric by 2035.
It was thought that engine-free cars and gasoline-free cars were inevitable, but changes are gradually coming to light. In the United States, HV sales exceeded EV sales for three consecutive quarters from October to December 2022, and Toyota’s HV sales reached a record high of approximately 180,000 units on a quarterly basis from October to December 2023. The number of EVs exceeded that of Tesla’s EV (approximately 170,000 units) (according to an article in the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper on the 4th).
Source: Business Journal
https://biz-journal.jp/company/post_377976.html
