New Toyota EV company launched

[mspohr]

Toyota would make EV's in a heartbeat if they could turn a buck on them. That's what car companies do.

Toyota did not stop building RAV4 EV's because the obscene profits would make them feel guilt. It was cheaper to buy Sacramento off than to continue to lose money on them.

Maybe they could get a few tips from Tesla on how to make money on EVs.

 

[McRat]

Maybe they could get a few tips from Tesla on how to make money on EVs.

Tesla made the EV powertrain for the G2 RAV4 EV.

The chassis was profitable.

 

[mspohr]

Looks like VW is getting a clue.
VW shifts focus to electric cars with US expansion plan

VW shifts focus to electric cars with US expansion plan

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

They're already 5-10 years behind. They are back footed.
Can they catch up? Four employees isn't going to do it.

It's not four employees. It's four employees with access to the company's resources, of which they have a lot, including other employees.

This will have been done to sidestep internal resistance and politics, which is quicker than trying to change the culture first.

 

[lklundin]

IMO, it is THE recipe to have small EVs that can compete with ICE cars on price.

Here is a concept, where the two first steps have been proven by Elon Musk:
1) Make a couple of thousand very expensive high-end BEV's, demonstrating the concept to investors and the public as well as gaining know-how
2) Make a couple order of magnitudes more of an expensive, but more capable BEV, attracting even more investors and generating even more publicity, while becoming a market leader with unparalleled know-how
3) Go into actual mass production with an affordable, yet very capable BEV, lowering costs and turning sustained profits
4) Use mass production, know-how and technogical advances to make a compact BEV that is cheaper than an ICE

I guess five years to get there.

 

[rxlawdude]

Truth?

Nobody is making money selling EV's yet. .

Funny. Tesla makes a profit on each car they sell, but that profit is plowed back into the capital pool for factory construction.

Some of the posters here are hilariously naive or disingenuous.

 

[mspohr]

It's not four employees. It's four employees with access to the company's resources, of which they have a lot, including other employees.

This will have been done to sidestep internal resistance and politics, which is quicker than trying to change the culture first.

So, Toyota has a culture toxic to EVs?
I'm sure these four guys will be very successful

 

[BluestarE3]

So, Toyota has a culture toxic to EVs?
I'm sure these four guys will be very successful

Guess that's why they are putting this effort under a different brand name? Launching this under the Toyota brand would be an admission that they dropped the ball on this by flatly refusing to offer a BEV until now. And if they somehow fail with their EV effort, Toyota can still save face by saying it's this experimental XYZ that failed, not Toyota.

 

[pilotSteve]

So, Toyota has a culture toxic to EVs?
I'm sure these four guys will be very successful

Aka "Four Guys EVs Inc."