{"id":31082,"date":"2022-09-08T16:27:11","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T20:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=31082"},"modified":"2022-09-08T16:27:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T20:27:11","slug":"the-time-for-hybrids-finished-toyota-honda-nissan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=31082","title":{"rendered":"‘The time for hybrids, has finished’ \u2013 will Toyota, Honda, and Nissan wake up?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese automakers Toyota<\/a>, Honda<\/a>, and Nissan<\/a>, are being called out again for their lack of progress with battery electric vehicles and decarbonization efforts. Greenpeace, a nonprofit organization promoting a sustainable future, released a new study finding that Japanese automakers lag behind their peers. <\/p>\n

Japanese automakers have been notoriously slow in their efforts to introduce all-electric models to the market. Despite Toyota being the first to reveal a mass-market hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius, in 1997, the automaker (and the entire country) has made little progress since. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s interesting, however, is Japan has the third largest economy<\/a> and hosts some of the most advanced technologies like bullet trains (with speeds up to 199 mph), quantum computing, and smart farming. <\/p>\n

Then why is it so behind in decarbonization and fully electric vehicles? <\/p>\n

Japan falls behind in the EV race<\/h2>\n

For one thing, Japan has a relatively conservative culture. The country firmly believes in order and hierarchy. So, naturally, when it comes to a significant change, it will be up to the leaders. And if you look at past comments from Toyota, Honda, or Nissan\u2019s higher-ups, you will notice a trend of thinking similar to the saying, \u201cif it isn\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d <\/p>\n

This type of thinking often results in slow change, which we are seeing now. For instance, the Executive Vice President of Sales for Toyota North America was recently quoted<\/a> saying: <\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t think the market is ready [for EVs]. I don\u2019t think the infrastrucutre is ready.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s despite all the evidence that shows electric vehicles are the future: <\/p>\n