Why Toyota’s New Prius Won’t Be Its Last
The world’s largest automaker expects battery materials and charging infrastructure to be scarce for another 10 to 15 years.
Toyota's new Prius debuted on Nov. 6 in Tokyo.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergToyota aired a Super Bowl commercial almost 18 years ago that opened with cars in traffic, their wheels spinning but going nowhere. “It’s been a long time since transportation has truly advanced,” a narrator intoned. “We’ve been moving; we just haven’t been moving forward.”
The ad for the second-generation Prius echoes the criticism being lobbed at the manufacturer that just debuted a fifth-generation version of its flagship hybrid. Toyota has ranked last when Greenpeace scored the 10 biggest automakers’ decarbonization efforts. InfluenceMap, a think tank that evaluates corporate climate policy engagement, said last month that Toyota remains the most obstructive company in the transport sector.