by Gabrielle DeSantis

It’s no secret that Toyota has been lacking on the electric car front, at least in terms of battery electric vehicles. They’ve been pushing toward hydrogen and hybrid solutions to cut back on emissions, which leaves many wondering if they’re against BEVs. But after months of pressure, Toyota is finally expediting their electric car program.

$9 billion dollars is being sunk into battery tech, with more investments to come

Toyota aims to sell two million electric cars annually by the end of the decade. But in order to do that, they need to start investing in factories that’ll meet those intense production goals. The $9 billion dollars going toward battery research and facilities are only part of Toyota’s plan. Altogether, the company plans on spending $13.5 billion to ramp up EV production in the coming years.

While a large chunk of that money will go toward electric car manufacturing, there’s still more research to be done. Masahiko Maeda, Toyota’s chief technology officer, spoke to The Wall Street Journal, about finding the right balance for an electric car. “If we focus on safety, then performance suffers,” he said, which is true. Batteries require power, and enhanced safety draws power, which reduces range and overall power.

And that also affects each battery individually. While Toyota aims for its batteries to retain 90% of their charging capacity, the more you use a battery, the weaker it gets. Take your phone, for instance. If you’ve had it for a while, you may notice it start dying faster, and that will also be true for electric cars.

But despite concerns, Toyota is diving headlong into solving the problem. But rather than going through traditional means, the automaker is opting to use a different battery structure.

RELATED: Toyota Once Partnered With Tesla to Make a Disappointing Electric RAV4

Toyota’s batteries will be slightly different than the ones in other electric cars

Most electric cars, including current Toyota hybrids and electrics, utilize lithium-ion batteries. They’re not exactly cheap, are complicated to make, and even after using them for so long, the kinks haven’t been worked out. Lithium-ion batteries are still prone to fires due to the liquid electrolytes that help create electricity.

Solid-state batteries are, as the name entails, solid. Rather than using liquid to conduct the electricity, electrons simply flow through the material of the battery. Think of it as an electric brick, and there are some benefits to this dense solution.

In theory, a solid-state battery can pack more of a punch and hold more charge. And because their electrolyte is solid (and less prone to spontaneous combustion), cars with solid-state batteries may be able to charge faster. That solves two of the biggest problems people have with electric cars: range and charge time.

But designing a new type of battery from the ground up is still riddled with challenges. And while Toyota is shooting for the moon, either out of change of heart or pressure from competitors, they’re not 100% on board with the idea.

Toyota still “can’t be optimistic” about battery electric vehicles

The automaker wants 80% of their lineup to have some sort of battery in it by 2030. But the subtext hints that not all of those vehicles will be fully electric. Plenty of hybrids will be thrown into the mix which, while certainly cleaner than a full gas-powered car, don’t perfectly solve the problem.

And currently, the company only has one fully electric car, the confusingly named, but impressive bZ4x electric SUV. And even that is labeled as a concept, while other companies are prepping to mass-produce their electric cars. Volkswagen just revealed the I.D. Life, and has already released the I.D. 3 onto American shores. And Ford has been pumping out Mach-E’s for quite a while.

Again, it’s no mystery that Toyota was late on this one. But Maeda wishes to have that solid-state battery available in some cars by the end of the decade. And while there are other challenges in development, it’s good to see Toyota making efforts to move toward a cleaner future.

RELATED: Watch Out Tesla — Toyota Just Sent a Strong Message to the EV World

The post Toyota’s Finally Getting in on Electric Cars: Invests $9 Billion in Battery Plants appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Now might be one of the worst times in history to buy a new car. And with new car prices sky-high, most people may not be able to afford one. But if you had hopes that the market would stabilize in 2022, you might be mistaken. CBS reports that, as of now, new cars may not get any cheaper until 2023.

A devastating crossover between Covid-19 and chip shortages

Most people in the market for a car have heard of the infamous chip shortage, which has affected every automaker in some capacity. And surely you’ve heard of that pandemic we’re still dealing with. Well, before, the two were separate problems.

Covid hit and manufacturers poorly predicted that people wouldn’t be buying new cars, so they slowed production. Then, out of nowhere, new car purchases skyrocketed, and manufacturers can’t keep up with demand. Likewise, the purchasing of smartphones and electronics made semiconductors scarce. But now, the two problems are overlapping.

Malaysia is a key player in the production and distribution of these chips. They’re also experiencing a massive spike in Covid cases, hit hard by the even more infectious Delta variant. With people sick, there are fewer in-person jobs and more closures occurring across the country. In short, there are fewer conductors being built in the middle of this shortage, and production won’t turn around until people are vaccinated.

This chip shortage sequel is causing more automakers to back down, severely limiting how much they produce. Even automakers like Toyota, who weathered the semiconductor storm fairly well, are closing their plants.

RELATED: What Chip Shortage? Hyundai Blazes a Hot Sales Streak

Automakers are still closing down their factories due to chip shortages

Toyota just announced that, for the next couple of months, production will be slashed by 40%. This is after they powered through the bulk of the shortage without skipping a beat, something many other automakers haven’t been able to achieve.

Nissan closed their six million square foot factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, with plans to reopen on August 30th. However, that date was pushed back to September 13th. Honda dealerships are also bracing for bare lots as the company adjusts their production output as well.

Then there are automakers like Tesla, who will be basing the rest of the year’s production and success around how many chips they can get. While they’ve avoided the shortage for the cars they currently make, it’s the slowest part of their supply chain, and Elon Musk himself went out to say “The chip supply is fundamentally the governing factor on our output. It is difficult for us to see how long this will last.”

But that isn’t even the worst of Automaker’s problems, as semiconductors aren’t the only part that’s facing limited production.

Semiconductors aren’t the only car parts that are hard to come by

The Covid outbreak in Malaysia, and many Asian countries, affects more than just semiconductors and cars. Wiring harnesses, glasses, and plastics are also in short supply for the same reason semiconductors are. Though, one could say they’re fairing worse.

Chip orders from nine months ago are just starting to arrive, while other products with greater demands, such as ones made from plastics, are still set back. Think of it this way: a lot of laptops are made from plastic, and every laptop has a semiconductor in it. But not every kitchen utensil has a semiconductor, even if a lot of those are made of plastic. You get the semiconductors sooner (though I wouldn’t call nine months “soon”) since you use less of them.

With Covid forcing factories to close, supply chains across the country are being set back. From farm equipment to kitchen appliances, supply isn’t able to keep up with demand. This is incredibly unsettling considering demand now is lower than at the start of the pandemic. Especially when it comes to cars.

RELATED: Why Ford Will Reap the Most Benefits When the Chip Shortage Ends

People aren’t buying cars as much… again

New vehicle sales dipped in April of 2020 due to the pandemic but rose rather quickly up until April of this year. However, ever since then, new car purchases have been going down. In August, new vehicle sales were down 18%. According to Oxford Economics researcher Mahir Rasheed, that’s “the lowest since late 2011 during the recovery from the Global Financial Crisis.”

Perhaps automakers are lucky people are buying fewer cars, as that means they don’t have to make as many to meet higher demand. But the flip side of the coin is that, because they’re selling fewer vehicles, they have to make money somehow. The only way to do that is by charging a lot of money for each individual car, which is made easy to do through financing programs and so forth.

So dealerships are expected to be baren, thanks to limited production and short supplies. But because of the high prices, people are finally starting to clue in that now isn’t the time to buy a new car. And so long as Malaysia, and other Asian countries are slowed due to the Delta variant, production will also hinder.

RELATED: 10 Biggest Reasons Why People Hate Car Dealerships

The post Buying a New Car Won’t Be Any Cheaper in 2023 and Here’s Why appeared first on MotorBiscuit.