With the overall development in automobile shifting focus towards electrification, Toyota seems a bit sceptical about it. The Japanese carmaker thinks that the carmakers’ hurry towards fully electric vehicles might be a mistake. This is not just for the bottom-line of the company but also the environment.
Toyota says Hybrids / Hydrogen based vehicles better
According to Gill Pratt, Chief Scientist at Toyota, car makers should offer vehicles with a variety of power sources. These could include hybrids and hydrogen based vehicles. The singular focus on all-electric is obscuring the overall impact of these EVs on the environment. An electric vehicle will not emit any emissions while running. However, the source of electricity used to charge as well as the availability of the lithium used in the battery packs is usually not factored in.
Due to the rapid push for electric vehicles, there could soon be a shortage of lithium. The metal is a crucial element in the process of making such cars. Another problem that could be faced is the shortage of charging points. While most EV owners will charge their vehicles in their homes, it would be insufficient for travelling longer distances. In this case, the owners of such cars will have to rely on public chargers. And it is very likely that the limited infra could soon be over burdened by multiple users coming in at once for charging.
CO2 output Impact of EVs and Hybrids
Further, Pratt also comments that hybrids will have a better impact on the CO2 emissions compared to pure EVs. This is due to the fact that all-electric vehicles will use much more lithium than a hybrid. Hence when comparing the amount of emissions per unit lithium used, there will be more hybrids than pure EVs, skewing the favour towards hybrids.
Toyota showcased an example to make its point clear. Consider 100 traditional vehicles with 250 g/km of CO2 emissions. Now, if one of them is replaced with pure EV, the average emissions will drop to 248.5 g/km. However, if the same lithium (round 100 kWh battery equivalent) is distributed over 90 hybrids, and balance 10 cars get a conventional powertrain, then the CO2 emissions fall to 205 g/km. This means in a larger scale of things, keeping the lithium usage as same, hybrids will help lower overall average emission per vehicle than an all-electric car.
Also Read – Toyota displays future ready products at Auto Expo 2023.
