Toyota makes hybrids, they outsell all other hybrid manufacturers, and middle-america "doesn't want" electric vehicles while also demonstrating they don't know about electric vehicles. Same story over the past decade, not too much has changed except the number of BEV on the road in total.
Toyota is a conservative (not the political kind) company, so it's not that big a surprise.
On top of that, there's the fact that Toyota have been investing heavily in hydrogen fuel cell technology for years, instead of BEVs. They put their bets on the wrong horse, and have been slow to adapt as a result.
Sure, but all of these companies have had Hydrogen programs. GM had hydrogen cars back in 2009 on the road. BMW's hydrogen program is still going strong. Toyota was just smart enough to capture the incentive money while they could pretend it wasn't a boondoggle. 😆
You do realize that basically all the large manufacturers are still working on hydrogen tech. It's going to replace gas ICE vehicles, not EVs. EVs have their place in cities and short transport but they're not efficient enough to work for large machinery or long hauls. There will be a mixture just as we have EVs and ICE gas vehicles now.
I don't know how much research/traction this idea has, but I've heard of a reverse hybrid system that seems to be a good solution in my mind. The electric engine operates the drivetrain, and the combustion engines runs continuously at its most efficient configuration to act as a generator for the electric engine. There's still a battery to store power, but the combustion engine will last MUCH longer due to consistent/stable RPMs and usage. Plus, you get the advantage of electric instant torque.
Edison motors. They've already got a working prototype electric diesel hybrid semi and have begun working on conversion kits. The big benefit is that when batteries eventually get good enough, you could just remove the diesel generator.
I don't know how much research/traction this idea has, but I've heard of a reverse hybrid system that seems to be a good solution in my mind. The electric engine operates the drivetrain, and the combustion engines runs continuously at its most efficient configuration to act as a generator for the electric engine
This is a very common setup, usually it’s diesel-electric. Diesel trains often work like this, it’s also used on submarines, ships, trucks, etc.
There was a report that Mazda was going to do this with their next release cycle, except they’re going to use Rotary engines because they can make small pancake ones shoved in the corner of a trunk do it.
Personally I think hybrids are the way forward, you don't really have range anxiety when the generator is built in. I really want to get my hands on one of those Edison motors kits and drop it into a late 60s chevy or mid 90s ford.
I'm not sold given that you've got the mechanical complexity of two types of engine systems in a hybrid.
I think just getting the charging network sorted out would basically make EVs fine for most people.
Hybrid engines have been around for quite some time, though, and they can be just as reliable as ICEs.
On the other hand, the weakness of EVs right now isn't just the charging infrastructure - it's the batteries. They're big, heavy, and very expensive to replace. This is especially true given all the new electric pickups/SUVs coming onto the market in the US. Battery tech needs to mature a while longer, IMO.
It depends on use case. If you're driving in a city or living in a small country or state, electric makes a lot of sense.
Range anxiety only really kicks in if driving long distances. But 300 miles on a full charge is already common among electric cars. I'm in the UK - that'd easily covet the 200 mile journey from Manchester to London.
I think the real anxiety around range is a lack of chargers either on the journey or at the destination. Without that infrastructure then it will put people off electric cars. But the infrastructure is getting better every day -at least in Europe anyway.
Yeah, I've got a petrol car, and now that I've got my own house I don't think I'd gotten into a situation where an electric car wouldn't have covered my needs just as well.
Obviously it was different when I was renting and stuck off street parking, but for anyone that has a garage, having an electric car and just plugging it in overnight covers pretty much everything, with maybe the odd public charging on a road trip.
hybrids might be a PART of the way, but there’s absolutely no reason they need to be the only way. For many many use cases BEVs already work better than hybrids and those cases are only going to grow in number as the charging infrastructure is built out and energy storage tech improves. Maybe there will always be fringe cases where hybrids are practical, maybe not.
I think plug-in hybrids are probably the way, particularly outside the US where Tesla hasn't made a bid for controlling the charging network by overinvesting in proprietary charging spots.
At that point it's probably the price that is the issue, but otherwise that seems to be the proposal that people are most comfortable with. The scalability of "EVs as tech toys" upstart approach has always been a bit weird, and without that leading the way as much I don't know that there are incentives to fully transition without an in-between step.
I think plug-in hybrids are probably the way, particularly outside the US where Tesla hasn’t made a bid for controlling the charging network by overinvesting in proprietary charging spots.
This is the very first time I've heard anyone spin the number and ubiquity of Tesla Supercharging network as a bad thing. The charging connector is no longer proprietary. Its an SAE approved charging connector just like SAE J1772 used in nearly all EVs, the SAE Tesla connector is J3400.
True hybrids that can get 50+ mpg are better than ICE for sure. But plug-in hybrids are not the way forward. You can travel 20-30 miles on the tiny electric battery then it's a full on ICE vehicle and mpg usage. Environmental impact on those plug-in hybrids is way worse the more miles you drive, really only a good fit for low mileage drivers that will be consistent with plugging in at home.
they definetly can help us transition, yeah. the downsides currently there for full EVs don't need to be a thing when you have a small ICE attached to the electric motors to help it out when needed.
nothing stopping us from taking an easier step in the right direction.
Toyota has been touting breakthrough solid state batteries for a while now.
Not so surprisingly, they are always 4-5 years away.
So, in the meantime, you should buy one of our Toyota ICE or hybrid cars! ...lol
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