..and being bitter and cynical about EV success.
Seems like they might have been in petroleum's back pocket this whole time.
Seems like they might have been in petroleum's back pocket this whole time.
"Old school" manufacturers like BMW and VW may look like they are doing better because of the dozens of models they've released but the actual sales numbers are so tiny that their impact is basically 0.
The Prius on the other hand was a massive sales success, and it really was what made hybrids a thing.
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.
Adding the Volkswagen entries in the Model column gets to about 102k.
Is the left column all cars? Or includes hybrids?
Adding the Models, VW is slightly ahead at about 102k vs about 95k for Tesla.
I think it's just a case executive incompetence/severe tunnel vision: Toyota has been in hydrogen lala-land for a good long while now. Now they have some serious catching up to do.
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.)