Toyota unveils its first all-electric car: the bZ4X

Please find year to date (2021) EV sales by car group here: https://eu-evs.com/bestSellers/ALL/Groups/Year/2021

Volkswagen is outselling Tesla.

Coincidentally, public opinion in both countries are staunchly against nuclear power, which I suspect played a role. When you eliminate a proven, stable source of power, you end up campaigning for everybody to use less electricity "to save the Earth." Once you buy that argument, EVs start to look less palatable. (Better to peddle hydrogen and don't look too close at how it's made.)

And they did have a 79% market share of all EVs sold in the US last year (though, that is expected to be lower this year, and the EV market segment is growing very fast). Cf. https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2021/08/as-ev-sales-double-....

In Canada, Tesla is deploying supercharger stations with separate, dedicated chargers for all other brands to take advantage of government subsidies.

I wouldn't put it past them to prioritize their own cars in some way when they finally open up to other makes.

I had always assumed these were like gas stations where you can bring any car to fill up.

If each manufacturer is going to have their own network, this doesn't seem like a good path forward.

This is, in fact, the case.

If Audi launches electric A4/A6/A8 tomorrow, that will be (roughly) 100% of their sales and they know it.

But they have billions sunk into ... (see my comment downthread about manufacturing and tooling).

So consumers need to wait for their lifetime ROI to satisfy the incumbent manufacturers such that they are willing to jettison those investments and electrify their actual lineup.

The worst offender, by far, is Volvo whose marketing pedigree, target audience and models produces are a perfect match for 21st century electric car buyers ... and yet we're two full model cycles past the Tesla Model S and I still can't get an electric V90 wagon ...

But yes, these are exceptions.

You'd think "Not everyone needs a car that can do long trips, so an EV that trades range for affordability is just satisfying a market segment!", and you'd be right...if consumers were rational.

Range anxiety is one of the top hurdles for EV adoption. Manufacturers that produce cars with only ~100 mile range, that only support charging at <20 kW only perpetuate the mentality that EVs don't have the range to be viable for anything other than commuting.

People who aren't EV enthusiasts and don't follow car or tech news specifically are likely to miss the memo that not only do long-range EVs exist, but they can be charged FAST. Obviously, they still don't charge as fast as a gas tank can be filled, but fast enough that day trips are quite viable, and road trips only require a little extra planning.

But thats just a theory, and there are other plausible ones.

The Pontiac Aztek and Toyota C-HR are hideous and polarizing. The only people that want them want to demonstrate that they don't care what their car looks like. That takes more commitment than taking on a bland, uninspiring vehicle like a Camry.

In my opinion, the bZ4X is also kind of "alternate powertrain" hideous. In a way, that worked for the Prius. You could clearly tell that the driver was an eco-warrior driving something "different." I think Toyota might actually be trying to hint at Lexus with this styling, which has a similar edginess to it.

The BMW 3-series is a model, not a sub-brand, even if variations all get a "3xx" name.

A rock solid EV that doesn't need a lot of repairs, and when it does, is simple/cheap to repair would be a huge win for EV buyers.

I just would not expect them to waste the 4Runner/Tacoma branding on an experimental product due to the ICE 4Runner/Tacoma’s spectacular reputation as one of the most reliable cars available.