Toyota was the first company to bet on new technology in cars so that one day they would be electric, and almost 20 years ago they put hybrid technology in a Prius, which they have then improved year after year.
But in the case of pure electric cars they had lagged a bit behind their competitors, and it seems that this is going to change as they have just made an announcement that by 2030 they will offer more than 30 models of electric cars to the market, with the aim of selling 3.5 million cars of these models.
Toyota is the world's largest car manufacturer (it manufactures about 10 million each year), and the goal of making one third of the cars they produce in 2030 be electric is not easy to achieve, as there are many new materials to use.
I think for a few years all the big car manufacturers were a bit lethargic (and Toyota too) as they had good profits, and that have allowed a new and inexperienced manufacturer like Tesla to position itself as the leader in electric cars. And now Tesla already has more experience in making electric cars and being able to survive.
It seems that Toyota's announcement marks a change of direction but I think it is late because their competitors have also changed in that same direction. But Toyota is very big and very strong financially, and it is normal that they continue to be one of the leaders in its sector.
Within this change, Toyota also announced large investments to manufacture batteries (more than 17 billion dollars), and that its prestigious Lexus brand will be only electric by 2035, with the aim of having a car with a range of 700 km.
At present, all the large car manufacturers are investing in new batteries with new technologies that allow them to extend the autonomy of their cars, since that is the weakest point of electric cars, and manufacturers have to ensure their future manufacturing.
What is very clear is that electric cars are going to lower their prices at the same time as their autonomies are increased, but there is still much work to be done to reach their full implementation.
Cars as we know them today have been around for almost 150 years, and the change that is taking place is a full-blown “revolution”. And revolutions always have winners and losers.
It remains to be seen who will lead the electric car market in 20 or 30 years.
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