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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-...
    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

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