Featured 54 organizations demand Toyota shift to EVs globally as new CEO steps in

My quote to run a conduit with extra heavy cable and a "240" socket with no changes to the main box beyond a breaker and 40 feet of run with boring through a cinder block garage wall but no underground was $3k 2 years ago.

 

Even if the hybrid reduces gas consumption by just 10%, hybridizing the fleet entirely would yield a greater bang for the buck compared to using the batteries for fewer BEVs (or even PHEVs).

 

Hybridizing the fleet requires buyers to choose the hybrid. It seems they are more willing to choose the plug in.

 

Or eliminate the choice?

 

The vast majority of people who purchased US's #1 selling light vehicle - RAV4 - would have purchased the hybrid model over the gas-only model if it was available for purchase.

 

Interesting supposition. Is there a reason you say this?
BTW, so far in 2023, the RAV4 is estimated to be the #2 best selling light vehicle in the USA.

The 25 Bestselling Cars, Trucks, and SUVs of 2023 (So Far)

 

First half of 2022 48% of rav4s sold were hybrids or phevs. If toyota made more of the phev version and dealers didn't jack up prices, the hybrid/phev would be the vast majority of rav4s. The shortage was mainly in phev not the hybrid version.

The best selling vehicles in north america are consistently pick up trucks. The rav4 was the best selling toyota vehicle and the best selling non pick up until this year where the tesla model Y is beating it. I know a couple of people that bought the non hybrid in the past because toyota did not sell the adventure version as a hybrid. I'm sure some that don't care about awd also buy the less expensive non hybrid. Toyota could fix all of this, but tesla model Y and dealer scalping on rav4 prime show that people want plug-ins.

There is not a long term shortage of batteries that you have to ration. It does take time to build battery capacity. Toyota has really dropped the ball here, and needs to invest much further. They can leverage investments with other battery makers.

 

And whose fault is that? Toyota slow walked out new hybrid models to maximize profits. But now there are plug ins, and they didn't make the investments to have a battery supply to compete in that segment, so are playing the hybrids are a better use of batteries for reducing emissions. Yeah, they are, so why the delay?

There are over 2600 Rav4 hybrids listed on Cars.com right now. If people really want them, they are available.

 

Wow, it's all pickup trucks and SUVs. It sux.

 

I'm not saying that Toyota isn't to blame. They could have taken the industry by surprise the way Model Y is doing so now. Missed opportunity for Toyota. I can't believe an EV is #1 so far. Did not expect that.

Regarding my prediction... Around here, the wait time for the RAV4 hybrid is a year or more but for the regular model it's months. Just from gas savings perspective, you'd be silly not to get the hybrid.

 

RAV4 hybrid or Prime?
The hybrid value depends on your use case.
How far are you driving each year?
How much is city driving vs hwy driving?
Are there subsidies for the hybrid that bring it to price parity with the gas version (in which case ignore the previous 3 questions).

 

Agreed. It would be so helpful if people that didn’t need a large vehicle didn’t buy one.

 

Manufacturers literally control popularity of vehicles by the availability/constraint of the vehicle that many purchasers would rather have - especially when it comes to standard hybrid versus plug-in.
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