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Toyota Motor Europe’s market share climbs to record 7.5% in first 9 months; Toyota brand 66% electrified sales, Lexus 79%

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) reported sales of 813,547 Toyota and Lexus vehicles, a decrease of -6% year-on-year but still outperforming the European automotive market which fell by -16% over the same period.

TME’s market share increased to a record 7.5%, marking an increase of +0.8% points year-on-year and maintaining a momentum which has seen its share grow by +2% points since 2019. Sales of the company’s multi-technology electrified line-up expanded to 540,777 vehicles, an increase of +5% year-on-year.

The Toyota brand consolidated its position as the 2nd best-selling passenger car brand in Europe with a market share of 7.2%, up +0.9% points compared to the same period in 2021.

Toyota sold 778,431 vehicles in the first 9 months. The brand’s top sellers were Corolla, Yaris, Yaris Cross, RAV4 and C-HR accounting for 60% of total volume. Toyota’s overall electrified mix increased by +8% year-on-year with 512,999 vehicles sold and representing 66% of total brand sales.

Lexus sold 35,116 vehicles in the same period, with its overall electrified mix at 79% of total brand sales. The brands’ extensive SUV line-up of RX,NX,UX,GX and LX represented 89% of total sales. Overall sales have been disrupted by supply chain issues and the suspension of exports to Russia.

Comments

Davemart

TNC with their measured approach to electrification, looking at what batteries can actually do in low and medium priced cars, have hammered ideological VAG.

From level pegging a few years ago they are now 2 million ahead in annual sales, which is very important in a proper mass manufacturer.

It is all very well electrifying the premium end when there have been massive subsidies and mandates to enable it, but doing it at truly competitive prices for cars for everyday people is an as yet unsolved problem.

A cheap car for the areas where the market is growing in medium income countries and folk buying their first car costs less than a decent sized battery pack.

None of this means that electrification won't happen, as Toyota is well aware and has been enabling for decades, but that is a different matter to not facing the reality of present battery costs and capabilities.

TMC deal with the real world.

VAG have been indulging in wishful thinking.

Lad

Low prices sell cars, no matter high fuel costs and their polluting vices. In this early stage of development EV makers are offering mostly high end, high priced cars to recover their overhead costs, which include high priced traction batteries. So, Legacy Makers must still hawk ICEVs to meet the financial numbers investors expect, indeed demand.
EVs will make up the majority of automobiles when the better battery finally makes it to market, i.e., ones that are cheaper, lighter,and more high energy dense.

Davemart

TMC have been very clear and open in their strategy, and why it is what it is.

Whilst batteries are expensive and scarce, using more modest levels of electrification in many times more cars is only sensible, and if it were not for extreme incentives and mandates falsifying the market would certainly be the strategy followed.

Whacking great ultra accelerative BEV cars are simply the result of perverse incentives.

sd

"electrified mix ... representing 66% of total brand sales"

I find this to be total greenwash BS. Their electrification is almost all their 20 year-old hybrid technology. Most of is not even plug-in hybrid. Yes, it has 10-20% better fuel economy than non-hybrid ICEs although some of their claimed benefit is lost by their out-of-date IC technology. You can not get to zero by making something 10% better and what they need to do is build BEVs for the masses in different markets. There was a recent article about Tata making a $10,000 BEV in India. Yes, you could not sell this in the US or European markets but that was not the intent. If GM can build a Bolt EV with 66 kWhr and a range of 260 mile or 420 km range for $25,600, one would think that Toyota should be able to make a Yaris sized vehicle with 30 kWhr of Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, and at least 190 km or 120 mile range for less than $20,000.

There is a recent article in Car and Driver comparing North American full sized hybrid pickups from Ford, Ram and Toyota. They ranked Toyota last with the comment that it seemed that Toyota was not even trying to be competitive and noted that Toyota has the worst fuel economy of the 3 vehicles. And both Ford and GM are bringing out competitively priced battery Electric pickups.

Davemart

With a 30Kwh battery pack you are stuck with a very low range vehicle for your suggested $20k, so probably need another vehicle when you need to go any distance, especially in cold weather.

And electric pick ups? Fine if you don't want to actually carry or tow anything, or use it as a pick up, aside from needing a massive battery even to pretend to do the job.

Hydrogen for that size and weight of vehicle does a hugely better job.

Maybe not when the magic batteries we were supposed to have arrive, but in real world present performance they are ludicrous in the application.

sd

Davemart, you were worried about price point and I do think that there is a market for a lower cost BE vehicle with less range especially in more urban hours and maybe in Europe or Japan, China or Korea. Toyota could offer BE vehicles with different ranges and capabilities at different price points for different markets. However, their initial BEV offering had less range and capability than a GM Bolt at a considerably higher price point. Then they recalled all of them because the wheels came off??? I would have thought that lug nuts were a mature and well understood technology.

Anyway, in the US, some of the larger markets including California, Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey, etc are going to mandate that all new light duty vehicles sold be zero emission by 2035. This will not include hybrids with IC engines.

Concerning Battery Electric pickups there is obviously a market for these vehicles. Ford was originally going to have a manufacturing capacity of 75,000 BE pickups per year but based on having pre-orders for more than 200,000 vehicles, they upped their inital manufacturing capacity to at least 150,000 vehicles per year. GM is a little behind Ford timewise in the pickup market but also has a strong order base. Two of my friends who have a mechanical contracting company recently ordered 2 of the Ford EV pickups. If you were a contractor, you would have to be dumb not to consider the EV pickups as they offer so much more capability with all of the built-in electric connections to run a welder, compressor or other electric tools. In an emergency they can also run a household for at least 5 days.

See https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E81j2loXEAYzjo5?format=jpg&name=large
for an interesting graphic on hydrogen uses with the most compelling uses on the top and the least compelling uses on the bottom with suggested competing technologies. Note that cars (and by extension, light duty trucks) is on the bottom. The top is fertilizer and refinery uses. Use hydrogen where it is really needed not where it is an energy expensive alternative.

Davemart

@sd:

' Note that cars (and by extension, light duty trucks) is on the bottom'

How light is light duty?

Many of the pick ups in use have considerable load capacity, and towing.

You need a thumping great battery, to make it as opposed to fake it.

In contrast, the only issue for hydrogen vehicles in the application is availability of the hydrogen.
And in Europe at least the likes of Stellantis and Renault are producing commercial vans using hydrogen:

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2022/10/20221017-hyvia.html

No drivetrain issues for putting it in a pick up type vehicle.

Davemart

Here is the Rivian RIT with its massive battery pack up against a Toyota Tundra:

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-far-can-electric-trucks-tow/

That is a fail in real world use, especially as the battery ages and in cold weather.

In contrast any old ICE will do the job, at WAY lower cost.

sd

How light is light duty? Here is a link to an explanation of the official US truck classifications.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck_classification

I do not know of any Battery Electric Class 1 or Class 2B or Class 3 trucks for sale in the US but there are Class 2A and Class 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Battery Electric trucks on the market.

Maybe Toyota will be dumb enough to put their Fuel Cells in a pickup but I doubt that it would sell in the US market any better than their Fuel Cell car The main advantage of Battery Electric is the low cost of operation.

Yes, if you are going to do long haul trailing, you are probably better off with a gas or diesel engine at the moment but if you are a contractor just driving out to the job site with some materials, tools, etc and a class 2A truck will work, you would be money ahead to get an electric pickup. I have a 4WD Class 2B pickup (GMC 2500 crew cab long bed, 266 in (6.75 m) long, 6700 lb (3 tonne) weight) that I use for off-highway travel and to carry a pickup truck camper and occasionally carry steel, etc. My highway mileage drops about 30% at highway speeds (75 mph) with the 2500 lb (1.15 tonne) camper loaded in the bed. This would probably be similar to towing a smaller trailer (15 - 20 ft long with a similar weight. Hopefully by the time I need to replace it, I will be able to purchase a battery electric version.

Davemart

Batteries often work fine in trucks and delivery vehicles etc, where the routes are often fairly stable and predictable.

We have loads of them, fast increasing, in Europe.

But where the routes are more variable then hydrogen is what is being put into them right now, and for heavy private vehicles that usage is applicable.

Something like the Stellantis drive train works fine, as the battery can be used to provide everyday running around, with the hydrogen fuel cells kicking in where longer distances etc are needed, so the point about costs is somewhat moot, as they can be run on batteries a considerable part of the time, with the hydrogen taking over when that is running out of puff.

The specs of personal BEV pick ups simply show vehicles which are vastly over priced and not up to the job.

Once you need that sort of pulling power and weight, fuel cells can actually do the job, whereas batteries mean that you are just adding more weight for ever decreasing returns.

sd

Davemart, Just a brief note. Salt Lake County just got 5 of the Ford BE pickups. I am hopeful that some of the local police departments that have pickup patrol vehicles will also buy BE pickups which would make a lot of sense (and save lot of cents) as they mostly idle and are not driven very far. Also, Salt lake City has already replaced their Toyota Prius fleet that were were used for parking enforcement, etc with Chevy Bolts that cost less to operate and pollute less.

Davemart

@sd:

I would tend to agree in that application, where the routes are far more limited and predictable than in most private use.

The drive train used should fit the application, rather than being regarded as a universal solution.

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