EVs - sensible perspective

By: Dave Leggett - 4 June 2009 12:38

My colleague and daily news supremo Graeme 'Grobster' Roberts is in Japan this week, as a guest of Toyota on a trip for European journalists themed around hybrids. Of course, Toyota is big into hybrids and has an 'up' story to sell where they are concerned. But what about the Toyota attitude to pure EVs?

There's an interesting Toyota perspective on the subject that Graeme has filed this morning. It perhaps highlights a slight paradox in hybrids.

Yes, they are about moving away from total fossil fuel reliance towards more electrically based propulsion, but their very design and purpose highlights the weaknesses inherent in pure EVs. They are a compromise to overcome range and charging issues. And those battery based tech weaknesses are not going away anytime soon, despite the best and continuing efforts of the li-ion crowd.

JAPAN: EVs viable only as compact commuters - Toyota