Toyoda is correct that the hype is way over inflated, however he only has himself to blame for the lack of R&D Toyota have done in this very important era of future motoring.
soundsgood,
Dec 20, 7:33pm
Our experiences in Japan is that most people use public transport to get around as it is so available and efficient. Cars are more commonly used in rural locations. That would also be one reason why just about every car on the road there is a hybrid.
apollo11,
Dec 20, 7:40pm
Governments worldwide are mandating the end of fossil fueled vehicles by specified dates, so the car companies really don't have a choice other than to invest in ev's. Car companies like Mazda and Toyota will find themselves shut out of markets in ten to fifteen years if this continues. Edit: Toyota have a solid state battery that is supposed to be rolling out in product around 2025. Solid state batteries are already being used in various bus fleets, so the technology is viable.
alowishes,
Dec 20, 7:48pm
I thought you were talking about the current government for a second.
intrade,
Dec 20, 7:51pm
toyota and general motor have the most advanced knowhow in electric cars. Tesla run a toyota Dc to dc converter Watch the documentary "who killed the eletric car " to see how it started with electric cars of today.
tony9,
Dec 20, 9:44pm
Putting a few of those asides aside.
In NZ, the cheapest power comes from coal, it is a very cheap energy source that delivers close to the major demand.
Most vehicles on the road in NZ at the moment are more efficient then the thermal power stations. Less carbon goes in the air from most vehicles than that which goes up the chimney at Huntley power station for the same amount of traction power delivered.
Hydrocarbons are an incredibly cheap form of energy (all created and written off millions of years ago) and being very energy dense are easy to store and transport.
harm_less,
Dec 20, 9:59pm
Hydrocarbons may have been created eons ago but they require significant energy inputs to find, extract, refine, transport, and of course all that stored carbon is released to the atmosphere when HCs are burnt.
apollo11,
Dec 21, 12:57am
Watch Sandy Monro talking about Tesla's onboard electronics, he knows his stuff. They had a Japanese engineer from Toyota (if I remember correctly) look at one of the Tesla main control boards and he said it was beyond their capability to even reverse engineer it.
nightboss,
Dec 21, 1:48am
Dehydrated tears?
tony9,
Dec 21, 1:50am
It is effectively impossible to reverse engineer the core electronics in a modern car. Much of the logic is in encrypted software with very high levels of protection.
nightboss,
Dec 21, 2:08am
I do not agree with the above claim.
Coal and gas generation equipment make up 8% of New Zealand’s electricity capacity, yet over the last 10 years they have never produced more than 5% of the annual production. Why, because they are only there to produce peak supply when the cleaner and cheaper options are unable.
s_nz,
Dec 21, 2:32am
Pritty much all of this is false.
If Huntly coal was the cheapes to run the private owners wound't have decommissioned / mothballed two of the four units.
Wh
And the owners would be running it now (currently both Huntley coal units are off), rather than using all the expensive (lol) hydro & geothermal resources at other power plants.
Generation location isn't super important, we can and do transmit power long distances from locations where cheaper energy is available (big south island hydro resources) to locations of high demand (i.e. Auckland).
What you say about car engines being more efficient than power plants is wrong.
You can get car engines that are 41% efficient, but in typical operation cars engines are about 20% efficient.
Modem Open cycle thermal power stations are (real world) about 40% efficient, closed cycle thermal power stations 56 - 60%. Hydro power stations are 85%+ efficient.
Fossil fuels aren't super cheap compared to hydro & geothermal energy, but they are very dense and easy to transport - Unlikely they will be going anywhere for long haul flights etc, but are fairly easy to swap out for electric cars for the likes of city communing.
ronaldo8,
Dec 21, 2:40am
Na what? You seem to have lost the context of what was being said.
"the environmental cost "
apollo11,
Dec 21, 2:51am
The Chinese usually manage to pinch any operating software, as XPeng did with their Tesla clone.
3tomany,
Dec 21, 4:26am
There is not much if any environmental saving either until the batteries last longer and are less toxic to produce.
s_nz,
Dec 21, 8:51am
Independent analysis funded by the EECA reached a different conclusion:
"Significant reductions in emissions with global warming potential are available over the life cycle of PEVs. A reduction of carbon dioxideequivalent (CO2-eq) emissions approaching 60% will be realised over the full life cycle of the vehicle for a BEV compared with a petrol vehicle.
When looking only at the electricity consumed by a BEV driven in New Zealand, a BEV will produce close to 80% less CO2-eq emissions compared to a petrol vehicle, a figure that will only improve supposing New Zealand meets its policy targets for the reduction of the carbon intensity of electricity production. The total amount of energy used during the entire life cycle of the vehicle (cumulative energy demand) was around 40% less for the BEV than for the petrol and diesel vehicles."
The coal/gas/oil power plants are a real ripoff as they only last about 30 years and then have to be replaced, so you have to keep building new ones all the time.
It's more likely that many will get cancer from their constant use of smart phones while driving.
tony9,
Dec 21, 10:54pm
The Hydro plant has a design life of 50 years, and most in NZ have a half life rebuild around every 25 years. That costs a bit more than the original new build price, depending on how much is replaced.
Thermal stations are pretty much the same, but usually the coal field supplying them runs out before end of life, that happened at Huntly, but appropriate coal can be imported cheaply. Other issue with thermal stations is that efficiency of new builds improves over the like of an older station so half life rebuilds are usually not worth it. Huntly was always expected to be retired before now but NZ would be in deep poo without it. The current energy market in NZ is such that the generation companies have no incentive to spend much on significant new generation as it would drag down wholesale prices.
tony9,
Dec 21, 10:57pm
You may well be right. I have spent hundreds of hours sitting in generators (same as motors) servicing and rewinding them. I got cancer.
elect70,
Dec 22, 12:45am
Evs are ideal for commuting sohrt to medium distances but getting them into road transport like trucks carting 40 tonnes long distance will need a hell lot of electricity. Govts need to be designing new renewable scource power stations now as will take up to ten years to come on stream . so either base hydro or more pumped hydro . Alternative is thousands of wind turbines on every hill &huge solar farms blotting the countryside . More households turning to heat pumps will only add to the demand
ronaldo8,
Dec 22, 1:45am
Completely wrong. Do some reading
ronaldo8,
Dec 22, 1:46am
What? and you give that credit?
"ONiO® is a healthcare-focused company that brings self-powered, battery-free solutions to the IoT market."
Critical tthinking fail.
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