Japan has ceded its leadership in consumer electronics. It’s in no one’s interest it follow that path in autos, not least the Ontario communities with a stake, David Olive writes.
Japan is at risk of losing the race in all-electric vehicles (EVs). And that poses a danger for southern Ontario, with its three Japanese auto plants. Among the 35 models in Bloomberg’s latest ranking of the best performing EVs only three are Japanese vehicles.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, concentrates on hybrid vehicles, which it pioneered with the first gas-electric Prius a quarter of a century ago. As do most Japanese automakers.
As to all-electric vehicles, the Japanese industry, with backing from Japan’s powerful trade ministry, believes that largely unproven hydrogen fuel-cell technology (HEVs) is the key to reaching zero-emissions targets by 2050.
By contrast, Toyota’s rivals outside of Japan, spearheaded by Tesla Inc., are betting heavily on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) powered by lithium-ion batteries.
For the rest of this article: https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/2023/01/19/ontario-has-much-at-stake-in-japans-losing-ev-race.html