Earlier this week, Takeshi Uchiyamada, the chairman of top-selling automaker Toyota, explained why he didn’ t understand the quick transition to electric vehicles that many of us see on the horizon. Or, if most of you reading this and I are absolutely off our…
Earlier this week, Takeshi Uchiyamada, the chairman of top-selling automaker Toyota, explained why he didn’ t understand the quick transition to electric vehicles that many of us see on the horizon. Or, if most of you reading this and I are absolutely off our rockers, he explained what we are ignorantly ignoring.
Mr Uchiyamada made a few key points anti-selling electric cars. Below, I’ ll explain why I think each of them is incorrect or misleading. After that, I’ ll expound on why I think it’s harder for Toyota than others to accept the transition to electric cars.
In the interview with CNBC, he stated, “But in order for electric vehicles to cover long distances, they currently need to be loaded with a lot of batteries that take a considerable amount of time to charge.” Indeed, sort of, but that misses context and some top-of-market examples. First of all, the vast majority of driving is not long distances. In the USA (where people drive approximately twice as much as Europeans) , we drive fewer than 150 miles nearly 100% of the days in a year. Furthermore, nearly 100% of trips are 50 miles or less.
Yes, charging may take a while, but if you have a car with 150 miles of range and can charge it at home or work, you almost never have to charge it somewhere else — and, of course, you don’ t stand next to the car uselessly while it’s charging.
Also note that many households have two cars. If you have two cars and only drive more than 150 miles in a day a few times a year, one of your cars almost definitely doesn’ t need to think about charging on a long trip.
On long-distance trips, an electric car with a decently sized battery (like a Tesla Model 3) can drive 3–5 hours on a full charge. By then, a normal human needs a break to use the restroom, stretch, and perhaps eat and drink a bit. Depending on where you need to go next, you can spend 30 minutes to 1.5 hours charging while doing those things and then be on your way. Sure, if you needed to spend just 10 minutes charging, that would be even more seamless, but it wouldn’ t end up changing your needs that much — you still need to use the restroom, stretch, perhaps eat and drink a bit, and check your smartphone for various notifications. And, again, remember that such trips only account for maybe 1–4 days out of the year for most people.
Also, it’s not just Tesla that is creating competitive long-range electric cars now — GM, Nissan, and Renault already have options on the market.
