Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC – Today, Reuters reported that Toyota “is considering a reboot of its electric-car strategy to better compete in a booming market.”
Toyota, with only one electric vehicle on the market, has been much slower than its competitors to transition to electric vehicles. Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales hit 6.6 million in 2021, more than tripling their market share from two years earlier. The auto company has been actively blocking the transition to electric vehicles through its hardline stance and lobbying on a global scale against them. In the past three years, Toyota lobbied against clean car regulations twice, once in 2019 and again in 2021. Toyota also refused to sign the global pledge made at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) in 2021 to phase out dirty, gas vehicles by 2035.
Sierra Club and allies have been demanding Toyota make the switch to electric vehicles.
In response, Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, released the following statement:
“Toyota’s decision to electrify comes after it’s been made painfully obvious how desirable clean electric vehicles are for consumers and how necessary they are for our climate. The once climate leader who pioneered hybrid cars has fallen behind its competitors who have a multitude of electric vehicles on the market.
“Electrifying the transportation sector this decade is essential to make climate progress and improve air quality in communities across the nation. The US’ best-selling automaker must dramatically change course and get EVs on roads now.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.