There are two articles: VW, Toyota Place Different EV Wagers | WardsAuto VW Touts Its SUV Sales, But Vows to Stay in Car Market LOS ANGELES – Despite Volkswagen’s belated arrival to the SUV party, it is making up for lost time, says Scott Keogh, the new CEO of Volkswagen of America. He adds, however, that the German automaker has no plans to bail out of the car market, despite its waning sales. . . . “We arrived late to the SUV game, but we see our rightful share growing,” Keogh says. But he then cites the Jetta compact sedan as a “great entry-level vehicle for young buyers.” VW, Toyota Place Different EV Wagers Toyota and Volkswagen are both involved in electric-vehicle development, yet they pursue strikingly different strategies. VW is going all in with EVs, planning to introduce a cadence of them, from passenger cars to commercial trucks and vans. . . . Toyota is betting conservatively on EVs. It is investing in R&D for EVs and other internal-combustion-engine propulsion alternatives, such as fuel-cell systems. Toyota is big on hybrid vehicles powered by combined gasoline-electric systems. But unlike VW, Toyota has no determined plans to go to market with purely electric-powered vehicles. Why not? Because it doesn’t see consumer interest in them. At least not now. EVs currently on the market – such as the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla models – make up only 1.24% of the U.S. vehicle market. . . . Bob Wilson
that's the kind of rationale that should have led Toyota to never build a hybrid much less, that non renewable energy wasting Toyota Mirai. After all, plug-in growth has been way faster than original hybrid growth. Talk about a pathetic excuse, easily poked full of holes. Was no one there to throw the slower pace of hybrid growth in their face? Oh well, so, Toyota doesn't see consumer interest in EV's. I would have gotten down to the LA Auto Show to see Toyota's offerings - but there were too many model 3's blocking up the freeway that day. .
They must be asking all the people who go to car dealers if they want EVs or not. Meanwhile, all the people who want EVs just place their orders online. I'm pretty sure that 100 years ago all the market research done at the feed stores and buggy whip stores claimed that no one wants an automobile. Mike
Well, it did cost more than even their diesels. They do have a PHEV using the system in the A3 E-tron, and not all the plug ins they say are coming will be BEVs. Then companies can also include hybrids when they say electric. Volvo's announcement of going all electrified includes mild hybrids, for example.
There was a member of the TDI club that bought one of the Hybrids, drove it for a while, then traded it back in for another TDI.
