Top car brands to go electric in Africa
Toyota remains Africa’s most popular car brand with a presence in all the 54 countries on the continent. In 2012, it sold 237,000 vehicles on the continent accounting for 14 per cent of the market. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- "Toyota and Panasonic will start a feasibility study on a joint automotive prismatic battery business in order to achieve the best automotive prismatic battery in the industry,”
The company said in a statement - Toyota’s plans to electrify its entire car line up is expected to shake up the global motor vehicles sales market, in what is seen as the potential confronter to Tesla’s control over the electrical cars market.
KAMPALA. Toyota brand enthusiasts in East Africa may soon have an option to acquire electric versions of their favourite car models, after the Japanese multinational announced plans to have an electric or hybrid version of each of its models by 2025.
According to the announcement made on Monday, Toyota is targeting to make sales of more than 5.5 million electrified vehicles, including more than 1 million zero-emission cars by 2030, as it moves to phase out its combustion-only models.
To achieve the target, Toyota plans to start selling more than 10 different pure battery electric cars by 2020, targeting China as its first focus market.
“Batteries are a core technology of electrified vehicles and generally present limitations relating to energy density, weight and cost,” the company said in a statement.
In 2015, the company unveiled its Environmental Challenge 2050 plan, which comprised a set of environmental protection targets including reducing vehicle carbondioxide emissions by 90 per cent from 2010 levels.
Toyota remains Africa’s most popular car brand with a presence in all the 54 countries on the continent. In 2012, it sold 237,000 vehicles on the continent accounting for 14 per cent of the market.
Toyota becomes the second major car manufacturer to announce plans to go electric, after Volvo which announced that each of its model launched after 2019 will be electric.
According to data from the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), Toyota was 2016’s largest car producer, accounting for more than 10 million units.
Toyota’s plans to electrify its entire car line up is expected to shake up the global motor vehicles sales market, in what is seen as the potential confronter to Tesla’s control over the electrical cars market.
While this announcement is seen as the beginning of a revolution towards more efficient eco-friendly motoring, it may take a little longer before electric cars hit African roads.
