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Electric vehicles have reached a key milestone on the road to becoming ubiquitous. That’s because Toyota, America’s best-selling automaker, is now selling one.
You might be surprised to learn that Toyota hasn’t, before now, sold a widely available, real electric vehicle in America. But they have not. Not really. Toyota, a pioneer in hybrids with the Prius — the name means “To go before” in Latin — hasn’t been “going before” with electric vehicles. Tesla, Nissan, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia and others have all beat Toyota to market with electric vehicles.
There were two generations of Toyota Rav4 EVs, but those weren’t available nationwide and, besides, they were really just regular Rav4 SUVs fitted with batteries and electric motors. The second generation of Rav4 EVs had Tesla, not Toyota, stuff inside. Toyota has long had a more conservative view of electric vehicles than some other automakers that have pledged to go all-in, or nearly so, on EVs. Toyota isn’t pledging to make nothing but EVs by any set date.
The BZ4X was designed from the outset as an electric crossover SUV. It’s not some other vehicle fitted with batteries, a technique that usually results in a sub-standard products. This SUV was engineered in partnership with Subaru, which offers its own electric SUV, the Solterra. Both are based on the same engineering and they even look almost identical.
トヨタは初めての電気自動車専用モデル「bZ4X」について、国内では個人向けの販売をせず、5月12日からトヨタ車の定額制サービスなどを扱うKINTOを通じて提供すると発表しました。
車の維持費用や下取り価格などへの利用者の不安を和らげることに加え、電池を回収しやすくしてリサイクルにつなげる狙いです。
– ANNnewsCH
Japan lowers gasoline subsidy to 20.3 yen/litre
marketscreener.com – Apr 14
Japan cut its gasoline subsidy for oil distributors to 20.3 yen ($0.16) a litre for the seven days from April 14, down from 20.7 yen a week earlier, the industry ministry said on Wednesday.
Yen drops to 20-year low against dollar
enca.com – Apr 14
The yen hit its lowest level against the dollar in two decades on Wednesday, extending recent falls as the gap widens between Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy and Fed tightening.
Japan’s wholesale inflation stays near record on Ukraine war
Al Jazeera – Apr 12
Japan’s wholesale inflation remained near record-high levels in March as the Ukraine crisis and a weak yen pushed up fuel and raw material costs, data showed on Tuesday, adding strains to the resource-poor economy heavily reliant on imports.
Shinichi Uchida, the man behind Japan’s unorthodox monetary policy
Nikkei – Apr 10
As Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda heads into his last year at the helm, the spotlight has turned to Shinichi Uchida, who has been recently reappointed as executive director, the top administrative official responsible for planning monetary policy.
IMF downgrades Japan’s growth forecast
NHK – Apr 07
The International Monetary Fund has revised downward its projection for Japan’s economy this year, citing uncertainty over surging oil prices and the conflict in Ukraine.
Tokyo bourse’s Prime section debuts with 1,839 companies
Nikkei – Apr 04
The Tokyo Stock Exchange overhauled its grouping of shares for the first time in six decades on Monday, seeking to attract overseas investors by offering a top tier of 1,839 blue chips that clear tougher hurdles for corporate governance than the old first section.
Japanese OEMs join hands for swappable battery platform
autocarpro.in – Apr 04
As per a recent announcement, major Japanese OEMs Honda, Kawasaki Motors, Suzuki, Yamaha Motor and energy firm Eneos Holdings will form a new company christened ‘Gachaco’, for battery swapping service for the new electric motorcycles.
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