Print 40 comment(s) - last by JoanTheSpark.. on Jun 13 at 5:46 AM

Toyota's Didier Stevens charging a plug-in Prius   (Source:
Toyota Europe threatened to leave the electric vehicle market

Toyota Europe said it would abandon the electric vehicle (EV) market if electricity materials were not decarbonized for future cars. 

“We need to cooperate with the electricity providers so that what we present to the market, in its totality, is a clean solution, otherwise we’d prefer to step back,” said Didier Stevens, Toyota Europe’s head of government affairs and environmental issues.

“We always assess a vehicle from well to wheel. If the electricity is not sourced from renewables then it makes little sense.”

Stevens added that Toyota Europe is worried about energy policies and plans around Europe, criticizing the UK Parliament's lack of a decarbonisation target to its new energy bill and Germany's plan to put 1 million EVs on the road by 2020. 

If more and more of their electricity is going to come from coal, then this does not solve the problem. It just shifts the emissions to another area. This is not how it should be,” said Stevens. He also said that the effectiveness of electric vehicles successfully reducing emissions will depend on how much clean energy countries are using on their grids.

Stevens also mentioned that the UK wants a 50 percent reduction in emissions, but isn't in favor of a renewables target for the entire EU. 

“If renewable targets can help then why not,” said Stevens. “We don’t need to wait till its too late. We can do it now so why not. If the renewable targets are removed there will be serious question marks. Some pressure is always needed. Look at the progress made on CO2 emissions standards for cars, would that progress be made without targets? I doubt it.”

Toyota has mainly been working on hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, but Stevens said the automaker would release an electric vehicle in Europe by 2015.

Just last month, Toyota announced that it would increase its lithium-ion battery production, ending its reluctance to use the technology in its mainstream hybrids. The plan calls for Toyota and Panasonic's partnership to build a new production line for about 20 billion yen ($194 million USD) in an effort to increase lithium-ion battery production to 200,000 per year. 

The lithium-ion batteries will replace the nickel-metal hydride batteries that Toyota currently uses in its hybrid cars. Lithium-ion batteries are lighter, smaller and offer greater driving range. 

Source: RTCC

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RE: Gee
By ritualm on 6/11/2013 11:07:06 PM , Rating: 2
The nuke plant's problems are fixable. What isn't fixable is the NIMBY lobby's fixation that nuke plants are bad just because "Fukushima Daiichi!!!!1".

Meanwhile, so-called "green" power generation creates more NIMBY issues than ever before and doesn't provide the stable power that most people need...

RE: Gee
By kattanna on 6/12/2013 10:19:27 AM , Rating: 2
well bummers... the bewbies are going to stay closed..

