Toyota New Zealand says it has no plans to bring in an electric Hilux ute in the next 24 months in clarification to television comments made by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday.
“I’d like to reiterate that we do not have any plans for a battery electric Hilux in our line-up in the next 18 – 24 months,” Toyota New Zealand chief executive Neeraj Lala says.
“It is irresponsible to suggest that customers stop buying non-electric vehicles immediately until there is an electric option available. The range and volumes of EV’s needed to meet demand is simply not available, and many customers still need a vehicle to transport their family or operate their business,” he says.
According to Toyota New Zealand, there have been more than 5296 EV sales over the last five years, and of these more than 45% fall into the luxury market. In comparison, there have been 23,257 hybrid sales over the same period.
“Our hybrid range has allowed us to contribute to 43% of the overall reduction of CO2 emissions over the past five years in New Zealand,” Lala says. “Hybrid technology is more readily available and is significantly more affordable for everyday Kiwis. Battery electric technology is coming but is not quite there yet.”
“As a brand we are focused on achieving affordability of low emission technology for everyday kiwis, not just the top 2%,” he says.
Global constraints around battery production, the semi-conductor crisis, and technology adoption could mean that the rate of EVs arriving into New Zealand’s market will be under considerable pressure.
Toyota also has concerns about the decoupling of safety and technology in the feebate scheme, with vehicles only needing to have a 3-star rating to get the rebate.
“For more than the past two decades the Ministry of Transport have pushed road safety through their ‘Safer Journey’ strategy. So why are we accepting 3-star vehicles as acceptable forms of mobility? Lala asks. “Toyota wants to see a stricter stance from the government on the importance of safety alongside the technology.”
Toyota New Zealand says it is moving quickly to analyse and absorb the details of the scheme announced yesterday.
Lala says Toyota are looking at their options of how to support customers who want to transition to low emission vehicles that do not qualify for the rebate until January 1, 2022.
At the end of 2021, Toyota will have its first fully electric model in the Lexus UX300e available, and this will be followed by the battery electric Toyota BZ4X SUV in 2022. A Toyota Hilux will not be available in a fully battery electric (BEV) powertrain in the next two years.
