The Japanese giant Toyota, long reluctant to total electrification, is now making its mea culpa.
The transformation is radical: Toyota, which until recently considered electric cars as one solution among others, is now making electrification its top priority in Norway, with an ambitious target of 80% electric sales in 2025.
As revealed Motor in an interview dated January 3, 2025, the manufacturer rethinks its strategy from top to bottom.
Lessons from the bZ4X: a painful learning experience
The experience of the bZ4X, Toyota’s first foray into the world of modern 100% electric, was revealing. In his interview with Motor, Piotr Pawlak does not hide the difficulties encountered: “ We learned lessons from the bZ4X crisis“, he admits frankly, promising that future models will integrate the elements now essential on the market.
Two technologies were identified as critical following the bZ4X experience.
The need for a powerful route planner
The bZ4X has been criticized for its poorly performing route planneran essential element for any electric car. Pawlak admits this weakness in the Motor Norway interview, promising “ good route planning » for future models.
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Electric car: what is a route planner and why is it essential?
But be careful, it’s not that simple. Even Tesla, which is often presented as the benchmark, is still struggling with its system. Between the terminals that appear and disappear, those that are broken or occupied, it’s a real headache. We must also take into account all the elements which have consequences on consumption, whether it be driving style, traffic or weather.
Battery management: the crux of the matter
The other downside is battery management. Clearly, the bZ4X was not really ready to face the Norwegian winter. Without heat pump…you buy a new car in 2025, and they explain to you that it will lose 40% of its range in winter. This technology is not an option.
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True or false? The heat pump option is very useful on an electric car in winter
Instead of directly transforming electricity into heat (like a toaster), it uses energy more intelligently. For one kilowatt of electricity consumed, it can produce up to 3 kilowatts of heat. This is pure energetic logic.
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