Toyota has plans to introduce a family of electric vehicles by 2025, with the first of them to be revealed in 2021! That’s right, Toyota is creating all-electric cars and crossovers and at Mount Airy Toyota, we are so excited we can hardly contain it.
Electric cars are not the wave of the future—they are the rage now! Any car company worth its salt either has all-electric cars in the works or currently has them on the roads. Though the adoption of all-electric has been slow over the years, car companies like Toyota are making the pivot to e-vehicles because they understand the only reason car drivers are tip-toeing towards the idea of driving electric is because it’s a new concept. Anytime new technology is introduced, people become wary of it—especially when that technology is to replace something we have grown accustomed to using. We don’t like change, even when that change is for the better.
Toyota knows another piece of very important information: though we may be wary of it, once we spend a little time with a new, safer method of driving, we will become obsessed. And when you see what Toyota is about to unleash, in terms of electric vehicles, obsession will certainly ensue.
Introducing the e-TNGA
It’s true, Toyota does have plans to reveal an entire family of e-vehicles, and it’s also true that the first of those will be revealed this year. The e-TNGA (named after the modular architecture of the electrical system used) will be an all-electric SUV crossover. This will be Toyota’s first e-vehicle to be released in the U.S.
Unfortunately, Toyota is keeping a lot of the details about the e-TNGA close to the vest—for instance, the company has only released a simple silhouette of the vehicle—but we did some digging and found out a few important details.
First of all, the silhouette doesn’t give much away, but we can tell that the e-TNGA will be a rather squatted, sleek, and cool looking vehicle with very modern aerodynamics. We also know that Toyota chose to use the e-TNGA framework (this framework has been used for a number of Toyota vehicles, namely hybrids) because it is so versatile. The electric crossover will have a dual motor, an all-wheel-drive powertrain, and a modular battery pack.
Toyota has big aspirations for its new line of e-vehicles, as they plan to sell 5.5 million electric vehicles every year by 2025. There’s no denying it, electric cars are here, and they are only going to become more prevalent.
The Benefits of Driving an Electric Vehicle
There are obvious reasons why e-vehicles are beneficial—lower cost of fuel and maintenance are the first to come to mind—but chances are, there are more reasons than what you might think. Here are some important things to consider if you are still a bit wary of making the switch from gas to electric:
1. Environmentally, a Much Better Option
Electric vehicles produce less pollution than gas-powered vehicles by reducing harmful exhaust emissions (in fact, e-vehicles have zero exhaust emissions!).
Another environmental benefit to driving e-vehicles is that you can drastically reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by recharging the vehicle with a solar PV system during the day rather than using energy from a grid. You can also take it a step further and purchase Green Power from your local electricity company. This way, no matter when you charge your vehicle, the electricity transferred has minimal toxic emissions.
That’s not all! Since electric vehicles tend to be produced in a more eco-friendly manner (with recycled materials, and with the absence of toxic materials needed for gas-powered vehicles) you are promoting a safer lifestyle and environment the moment you purchase one.
2. Improved Safety Features
Since electric vehicles have a low center of gravity, it makes them less likely to roll over. And, because there are fewer working parts and an absence of gasoline and other highly-flammable materials, they have a much lower risk for fires or explosions.
3. A Healthier Driver
Reducing the output of harmful exhaust emissions is a big deal. Better air quality certainly leads to a reduction in health problems, as well as, overall costs due to air pollution. And it’s not only air pollution electric vehicles reduce. Because e-vehicles are drastically quieter than gas-powered drivers, noise is less of an issue as well.
4. Less Expensive to Run
Running costs are incredibly low with an e-vehicle. The power to charge an EV takes about a third as much effort as it does when gassing one up at the tank. This may not seem like a big deal, but consider years of driving an EV, and with more and more people adding to the equation, the energy used to charge a vehicle is less than it takes when filling up the tank.
There are plenty more benefits to driving an electric vehicle, but let’s take a minute and have a look at some of the reasons people shy away from purchasing and driving EVs.
Fears of Going Electric
One of the biggest issues for potential EV drivers is what’s called, “range anxiety.” Since the typical range of an all-electric vehicle is less than most gas-powered vehicles, this concern is valid. But, it is important to think of why there is such a difference in range. The biggest reason is there are simply not as many charging ports as there are gas stations; however, this is changing—and at a very fast pace. Charging ports are popping up all over the country (in grocery store parking lots, on the sides of highways) while electric vehicles are simultaneously being created that can go for longer distances.
With that said, most modern all-electric vehicles can currently cover the average driver’s daily commute, including a few joy rides, without a problem.
Another common concern with EVs is the amount of time it takes to charge them. It is true that it takes much longer to charge your car than to gas it up, but keep these things in mind: one charge can (typically) handle a daily commute; charging times are continually decreasing as advancements are made in the technology used to charge; and, a 15-20 minute charge will, for most cars, allow for a couple of hundred miles.
One other issue often voiced is that the batteries powering every aspect of the car will eventually wear out, and once the battery is out, the car is rendered useless. What this thinking fails to consider is the fact that the life of most gas-powered cars is between 150,000-200,00 miles (and a lot of money spent on gas and maintenance in-between), and the projected mileage of EVs is to be anywhere from 350,000-500,000 miles. That’s a big difference and huge savings.
Operating under a single power source (the car’s battery) drastically reduces the possibility of having to pay for all the common maintenance that arises with gas-powered vehicles—all those moving parts create so many more possibilities for something to go wrong.
The Future of Toyota
As stated earlier, Toyota has plans for an entire family or fleet of all-electric vehicles to be fully unleashed by 2025. This is the venerated car company’s first big move towards electric, but it’s no real surprise. For years, Toyota has been making and releasing all-electric transportation devices (scooters and micro-cars, mostly) in Japan. It’s clear the company has been playing with and perfecting electric motors on all sorts of levels for some time, and it’s very exciting to think about what will be coming from them in the future.
At Mount Airy Toyota, we are looking forward to the wave of the future—it’s electric! Come in today to see what we have to offer in gas-powered, electric-hybrids, and all-electric vehicles today.
