Automakers like Toyota, who are favoring hybrids and plug-in hybrids and moving slowly on EVs, could be big benefactors of EPA’s new rule.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is among the companies that aggressively pushed back against the Biden administration’s original proposal.
In a memo sent in the fall of 2023 to car dealers across the US, Toyota Motor North America group vice president of government affairs Stephen Ciccone described the EPA’s original EV proposal as a “mandate” and “draconian,” CNN recently reported. Ciccone wrote the proposal had caused an “existential crisis” in the industry and suggested an option giving automakers more choice.
“Toyota’s position is that the best way to reduce carbon is by giving consumers a choice of powertrain options, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cells, fuel efficient ICE vehicles, and BEVs,” Ciccone wrote.
That flexibility is what the EPA finalized on Wednesday. But Toyota continued to characterize EPA’s rule as a “regulatory mandate” that will force it further into the EV game than it’s currently positioned.
The rule “requires a precipitous shift from around 8% market share of battery electric vehicles today to more than half by 2032 – an aggressive, sixfold increase over just eight years,” said Toyota spokesperson Edward Lewis in a statement. “Toyota will continue to lead the industry and comply with regulations, but serious challenges around affordability, charging infrastructure, and supply chain will need to be addressed before this mandate is realized.”
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Automakers like Toyota, who are favoring hybrids and plug-in hybrids and moving slowly on EVs, could be big benefactors of EPA’s new rule.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is among the companies that aggressively pushed back against the Biden administration’s original proposal.
In a memo sent in the fall of 2023 to car dealers across the US, Toyota Motor North America group vice president of government affairs Stephen Ciccone described the EPA’s original EV proposal as a “mandate” and “draconian,” CNN recently reported. Ciccone wrote the proposal had caused an “existential crisis” in the industry and suggested an option giving automakers more choice.
“Toyota’s position is that the best way to reduce carbon is by giving consumers a choice of powertrain options, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cells, fuel efficient ICE vehicles, and BEVs,” Ciccone wrote.
That flexibility is what the EPA finalized on Wednesday. But Toyota continued to characterize EPA’s rule as a “regulatory mandate” that will force it further into the EV game than it’s currently positioned.
The rule “requires a precipitous shift from around 8% market share of battery electric vehicles today to more than half by 2032 – an aggressive, sixfold increase over just eight years,” said Toyota spokesperson Edward Lewis in a statement. “Toyota will continue to lead the industry and comply with regulations, but serious challenges around affordability, charging infrastructure, and supply chain will need to be addressed before this mandate is realized.”