In August 2022, the California Air Resources Board voted to ban the sale of new internal combustion light vehicles in the state starting in 2035. During a recent media roundtable, Toyota president Akio Toyoda commented on the principle and was skeptical. Requirements
“Realistically, they seem quite difficult to achieve,” Toyoda said through a spokesman at the event. Reuters.
He went into a little more detail during the presentation to dealers. “But just like the autonomous cars we’ve all been driven by until now, BEVs will take longer to become mainstream than the media would have us believe,” Toyoda said.
Toyota isn’t the first automaker executive to express concern for California’s mandate. “I don’t think the market is ready. I don’t think the infrastructure is ready. And even if you were willing to buy one, and if you could afford it … they’re still too much,” said. Jack Hollis, Toyota’s vice president of sales in North America.
Toyota is the best-selling automaker in California, according to Reuters. So, the company has good reason to have electric models to sell there until 2035.
The automaker is also working on these products. Toyota is investing $5.6 billion in battery production in the US and Japan. Of that amount, about $2.5 billion is for Toyota battery manufacturing in North Carolina. The first of these packs should arrive between 2024 and 2026.
The bZ4X is the first of Toyota’s new family of EVs. The company had to stop deliveries just two months after launch due to an issue where the wheel hub bolts could come loose, potentially causing the wheel to fall off. He recently resolved this issue.allowing sales to resume.
China gets the bZ3 sedan, and there’s no sign of one coming to the U.S. at the moment. The bZ5 would later arrive as a larger four-door. A hybrid vehicle with a solid-state battery will join the range in 2025. Toyota and Stellantis will also launch an electric commercial van.
California may just be the starting point for state governments that restrict ICE sales. New York Gov. Cathy Hoechl is pushing for a similar ban there.