Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, predicts that the market share of electric vehicles on the road will never exceed 30%.

The world’s largest car manufacturer argues that its holistic approach to alternative powertrains will ultimately prove to be the right one. Its president believes that battery electric vehicles will reach a maximum market share of 30%, with the rest being occupied by hybrid vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.

For the wealthy

With one billion people in the world living without electricity, limiting their choices and ability to travel by manufacturing expensive cars is not the solution, said the company’s founder’s grandson at a recent business event, according to remarks published on the company’s media platform on Tuesday. “It is the customers, not regulations or politics, who need to make this decision,” he said.

Toyota pushing hybrids

The world’s largest automaker defended itself against allegations that it had fallen behind in the transition to electric vehicles, stating that its hybrid powertrains, hydrogen technology, and cautious approach will ultimately prove to be the right approach for the company, customers, and the environment. Earlier this month, Toyoda announced an initiative to develop new combustion engines. “Engines will surely remain,” Toyoda said in the company’s publication. It was unclear whether Toyoda’s remarks referred to sales of new cars or those already in circulation.

Forecasts for Canada and the United States

It is also unclear what Toyoda has in mind for the North American market, where the growth of the EV market share has been slower than expected. According to Bloomberg’s forecasts, EVs will account for 75% of new car sales and 44% of passenger vehicles in circulation by 2040.

Time will tell whether Toyoda is right or wrong

Presented for years by Toyoda, the multi-track approach argues that customers should be able to choose the powertrain that suits their needs and that the transition to EVs will not happen as quickly as many think. Last year, CEO Koji Sato stated that Toyota would sell 1.5 million battery electric vehicles per year by 2026, and 3.5 million by 2030.

With information from Automotive News