Thread

Toyota is taking the Corolla electric

446 points · 838 comments · cisc

paimapi · 1790211060 · focus · HN ↗
and all it took was two decades and millions of spend in anti-EV lobbying before they finally gave in, huh
(also kind of wild to me that an EV focused blog wouldn't mention this a single time since Toyota is (was?) arguably one of the staunchest and most stubborn anti-EV manufacturers out there)
1. radiator · 1790272297 · focus · HN ↗
  They were neither anti-EV in the past nor will they stop producing Internal Combustion Engine vehicles in the future
  1. paimapi · 1790272749 · focus · HN ↗
    based on what? there's so many sources noting their anti-EV lobbying
    <a href="https://chargedevs.com/newswire/toyota-actively-lobbies-against-support-for-evs/" rel="nofollow">https://chargedevs.com/newswire/toyota-actively-lobbies-agai...
    <a href="https://thedriven.io/2026/06/17/japan-car-giants-still-pushing-anti-ev-narrative-even-as-china-rivals-close-sales-gap/" rel="nofollow">https://thedriven.io/2026/06/17/japan-car-giants-still-pushi...
    <a href="https://blog.ucs.org/dave-reichmuth/why-does-toyota-oppose-clean-air/" rel="nofollow">https://blog.ucs.org/dave-reichmuth/why-does-toyota-oppose-c...
    and here's their CEO going on a tirade about Japan's EV-adoption mandate: <a href="https://evannex.com/blogs/news/puzzled-by-toyota-ceo-s-anti-ev-diatribe-it-s-not-unusual" rel="nofollow">https://evannex.com/blogs/news/puzzled-by-toyota-ceo-s-anti-...
    RajuChacha108 · 1790273392 · focus · HN ↗
    People who have vested interest will make such accusations.
    I own EVs but I am opposed to "mandates", opposing coercion makes you anti coercion not the objective of coercion.
    paimapi · 1790273650 · focus · HN ↗
    you read the articles, correct? the ones where they are actively supporting climate-change denying, pro-January 6th Republicans who are actively working on repealing CAFE, emissions standards, and other climate protective standards?
    also the accusation of 'vested interest' is very funny to me as someone who is proverbially hiding all his liquidity under a mattress (ie bonds) until this AI bubble pops and whose sources are 1) a non-profit and 2) a Union of Concerned Scientists blog
    7734128 · 1790274130 · focus · HN ↗
    Anyone can write a blog and they can write anything they want there. There's no more value in those links than in a Reddit comment.
    steelframe · 1790276684 · focus · HN ↗
    Or even an HN comment, for that matter.
    paimapi · 1790277986 · focus · HN ↗
    so you'd treat an academic reference text on chemistry as just as prone to bias and as worthless as a reddit comment?
    if you have other sources that talk about how great Toyota is, that'd be wonderful
    someonebaggy · 1790276094 · focus · HN ↗
    When the government said everyone should wear masks were you the guy coughing on all the produce?
    CamperBob2 · 1790276156 · focus · HN ↗
    Toyota isn't so much pro-internal combustion as pro-hydrogen. They bet on the wrong horse -- a really stupid horse -- and it cost them heavily.
    cisc · 1790286528 · focus · HN ↗
    > They bet on the wrong horse -- a really stupid horse -- and it cost them heavily
    How? Toyota has been the best selling automaker for the last six years straight:
    <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-retains-top-auto-crown-2025-with-record-sales-2026-01-29/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota...
    In 2025 Toyota had record sales.
    paimapi · 1790288860 · focus · HN ↗
    their total ledger might be fine but it's not like their R&D just came free out of the good will of thousands of people
    alfg · 1790320555 · focus · HN ↗
    All marketing, my dude.
  2. NewJazz · 1790273818 · focus · HN ↗
    I don't believe either of those statements.
  3. nunez · 1790300477 · focus · HN ↗
    They were AMAZINGLY anti-EV a few years ago. They couldn't shut the heck up about hydrogen being endgame and even shipped a flagship car that used the technology to prove it. (It barely sold, you couldn't refuel it outside of the Bay Area and the entire program was eventually written off.)

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