In the past year of 2023, Toyota has spent a lot of time proving that it is serious about electric vehicles and formulating a bold plan to launch a cutting-edge pure electric vehicle product line.
By Laura King
However, Toyota is not a firm believer in pure electric vehicles. Even in the era of electric vehicles, the internal combustion engine still has a lot of room for development.” Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda said.
Akio Toyoda said that Toyota is launching a new project to “re-promote the development of internal combustion engines” and that the plan has been approved by Toyota CEO Hisashi Sato and other executives.
“Some might say that the renewed push for internal combustion engine development in this era feels more like a race against the times, but that’s not the case,” he said. “This is a necessary step toward the future.”
According to Automotive News, in the past 2023, Toyota spent a lot of time proving that it is serious about electric vehicles and formulated a bold plan to launch a cutting-edge pure electric vehicle product line. But obviously, Toyota doesn’t want to “put its eggs in one basket.”
Even in the era of electric vehicles, the internal combustion engine still has a lot of room for development.” Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda said on Friday (January 12), “As one of the practical means to achieve carbon neutrality , the engine still plays a role, and we will continue to improve related technologies.
Toyoda believes that adopting new technologies will help reduce carbon emissions while providing more jobs and retaining the smell, sound and feel of cars that die-hard car fans crave.
He said, “Carbon neutrality can also be achieved through different means, the battery electric vehicles is not the only way. Shouldn’t we accept the challenge and be passionate about cars at the same time?”
Akio Toyoda said that Toyota is launching a new project to “renew the development of internal combustion engines” and that the plan has been approved by Toyota CEO Hisashi Sato (Koji Sato) and other executives.
“Some might say that the renewed push for internal combustion engine development in this era feels more like a race against the times, but that’s not the case,” he said. “This is a necessary step toward the future.”
Toyoda declined to reveal details of the new project, but information about advanced internal combustion engines is expected to be Toyota’s focus this year, with high performance and high combustion efficiency being key elements of a multi-pathway approach to reducing carbon emissions.
As Toyota reexamines the internal combustion engine, U.S. electric vehicle adoption is starting to slow. Last week, car rental giant Hertz said it would sell one-third of its electric vehicles in the United States, totaling about 20,000 vehicles, and reinvest in gas-powered vehicles.
Many of the 5.5 million people working in the automobile industry, Japan’s pillar industry, make a living by producing internal combustion engine parts. Toyoda reiterated that the process of achieving carbon neutrality must remain smooth to avoid social unrest.
In addition, he also “pays tribute to everyone who has built the engine so far” and said that he will never let the work everyone has done so far be in vain.
Of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement in combustion efficiency technology for internal combustion engines, such as higher compression ratios, more energy-efficient combustion technology, better thermal management systems and more efficient transmissions – especially when the engine is combined with a hybrid When used together with the system.
In addition, Toyota is also developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which emit only water and trace pollutants, providing a clean way to maintain combustion efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
Pure electric vehicles are only one of the ways to achieve carbon neutrality. In this process, technologies such as hybrid systems, hydrogen power and advanced internal combustion engines will also play a key role,” Toyota said.
