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Frankfurt (Reuters): Battery-powered cars are not ready for mass production yet, the chairman of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp told a German magazine, adding that he did not see US electric vehicle pioneer Tesla as a role model.
“Battery-powered cars with a long range are very expensive and it takes a long time to charge them,” Takeshi Uchiyamada was quoted as saying by Der Spiegel. “Such cars do not fit in our program.”
Toyota in September established a venture to develop electric vehicle technology with partner Mazda Motor Corp , seeking to catch up with rivals in an increasingly frenetic race to produce more battery-powered cars.
Both automakers are somewhat behind their peers, with neither having a fully electric passenger car on the market yet. This contrasts with Tesla, which late on Thursday unveiled an electric heavy duty truck as well as a new roadster.
“Tesla is not our enemy and not our role model,” Uchiyamada said. “I think it’s the German manufacturers that rather see Tesla as a competitor.”
BMW and Mercedes are betting they can mass produce new electric cars based on conventional vehicles, defying sceptics who say they will need more radical designs to head off the threat from Tesla and other start-up carmakers.
Uchiyamada said that Toyota was working on a new type of solid-state battery that is able to store more power and can be recharged much more quickly than current types.
“This technology will be a big development step. But that will still take time. We expect mass production in four to five years.”
Tokyo (Reuters): Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp have agreed to cooperate in selling electric vehicles in India from around 2020, they said on Friday, aiming to give each other a leg up in emerging markets and low-emission technology.
The announcement comes after the Japanese companies agreed in February to trade expertise in parts supplies and research and development.
The partnership could help Toyota to expand in India’s massive car market, where drivers prefer the type of affordable compact vehicles in which Suzuki excels. Suzuki, in turn, is expected to gain from Toyota’s innovations in automated driving, artificial intelligence and low-emission vehicles.
The companies said Suzuki will produce the electric vehicles and supply some to Toyota, which will provide technical support.
