What's Wrong With This Picture: Toyota's EV Insurance Edition

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

As Bertel reported this morning, the debut of Toyota’s first potential mass-market pure EV has not been an occasion for the Japanese automaker to trumpet battery-electric technology as a world-beater. In fact, given the kind of rhetoric that usually accompanies concepts like this Tesla-developed electric RAV4, Toyota is still treating electric vehicles as a limited, and relatively short-term trend that poses little threat to the gas-based core of its business. And there’s strong evidence that this is the right approach. Hybrids are the mass-market face of green motoring in the here-and-now, and a wave of hydrogen vehicles scheduled for 2015 could take considerable wind out of the EV bandwagon’s sales long-term. No wonder Toyota shoved development of the RAV4 EV to its idealistic “investment,” Tesla. This car is not the future… it’s an insurance policy.






Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Daanii2 Daanii2 on Nov 18, 2010
    "a wave of hydrogen vehicles scheduled for 2015 could take considerable wind out of the EV bandwagon’s sales long-term" The hydrogen vehicles of which you speak are electric vehicles.
  • Carlson Fan Carlson Fan on Nov 19, 2010

    Hydrogen vehicles may be the future but not until electrics have had a good run. Here's the drving log of a physicisian out in Jersey after nine days with his Chevy Volt that GM gave him. He is part of an advisory board. 176 MPG so far, let's see you do that with your Prius or TDI VW! http://gm-volt.com/chevrolet-volt-driving-log/

    • Carve Carve on Nov 19, 2010

      Really!? How many gallons of electricity did he use?

  • Analoggrotto I am sick and tired of every little Hyundai Kia Genesis flaw being blown out of proportion. Why doesn't TTAC talk about the Tundra iForce Max problems, Toyota V35A engine problems or the Lexus 500H Hybrid problems? Here's why: education. Most of America is illiterate, as are the people who bash Hyundai Kia Genesis. Surveys conducted by credible sources have observed a high concentration of Hyundai Kia Genesis models at elite ivy league universities, you know those places where students earn degrees which earn more than $100K per year? Get with the program TTAC.
  • Analoggrotto NoooooooO!
  • Ted “the model is going to be almost 4 inches longer and 2 inches wider than its predecessor”Size matters. In this case there is 6” too much.
  • JMII Despite our past experience with Volvo my wife wants an EX30 badly. Small, upscale, minimalist EV hatch is basically her perfect vehicle.
  • Dukeisduke Is the Volvo EX30 even on sale yet? It was pulled from the NACTOY awards because they were having software problems with the vehicle.
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