Toyota chief throws shade at EVs

AKIO Toyoda, the chairman and son of the founder of Toyota Motor Corp., has been a vocal critic of electric vehicles (EVs) for years and recently tried a new argument against them. At a ceremony for the unveiling of a statue of his late father, Shoichiro Toyoda, at Nagoya University, Toyoda said, "There are 5.5 million people involved in the automotive industry in Japan. Among them are those who have been doing engine-related [work] for a long time. If electric vehicles simply become the only choice, including for our suppliers, those people's jobs would be lost."

That is one I have not heard before, and it comes across as a bit of a stretch, but it may have been worth more than it actually is due to the timing. Japan has only recently had a change in government, and economic concerns are at the top of the public mind, as they are in most countries, with the automotive industry being a particularly sensitive topic due to its importance to Tokyo.