Toyota Switching to New BYD
There’s been a lot of talk, hasn’t there, over the last 12 months about how there’s so much demand for Toyota’s hybrids, how Toyota’s hybrids are so good.
If Toyota makes such great hybrids, then surely they’re going to eventually, when they decide to manufacture EVs, when they strategically come in right at the right time, surely they’ll be great too, right? Well, maybe not.
Toyota’s Hybrid Legacy
Now, here’s the thing, I remember very, very well when Toyota said BYD blade batteries were not good enough for the company.
That’s a very public comment. You can easily Google that and find it. It’s very true that they said that then they decided to use BYD’s blade batteries in their cars.
In fact, BYD made a lot of Toyota’s EVs a lot of them. A lot of the car is BYD. Here’s the thing it doesn’t stop at EVs, though.
Rise of BYD in Toyota’s EV Strategy
Toyota is going to use BYD’s Plug-in Hybrid DMI platform for its three new Plug-in Hybrid models.
Yeah, I mean, I thought Toyota’s hybrids were king of the world but Toyota is going to use BYD’s Plug-in Hybrid technology.
Toyota has such good plug-in hybrid technology or hybrid technology or EV technology, why does it keep turning to BYD? Car News China says that Toyota will introduce three plug-in hybrid models in the next 2-3 years, based on BYD’s Phev so Plug-In Hybrid DMI platform.
The Japanese auto giant will also no longer use its Toyota Hybrid System platform, which powers its hybrid models for newly launched cars, particularly in China. PHev stands for Hybrid Electric Vehicle.
It’s an internal combustion car that can’t be charged, can’t get a green license plate in China, meaning it doesn’t receive subsidies and treatment as an EV or a plug-in hybrid.
Evolution of Plug-in Hybrids
It’s actually in Beijing, pretty much impossible to actually register one of these vehicles, a so-called hybrid, because obviously China aren’t stupid like Europe are.
They don’t consider, or other countries, to be honest, not just Europe, they don’t consider one of Toyota’s hybrids to actually be green.
Their claims on their fuel use, their economy, wildly exaggerated as well.The other big thing is you can’t drive a hydrogen Toyota vehicle, which Toyota have advertised on many occasions as being a perpetual motion machine that can drive forever.
That advertising was toyota forced to stop doing that, I believe, in the UK, you can’t drive them on electric power only.
You If you don’t plug them in and then drive them on electricity, you can just run it as a hybrid.
it’s like Toyota pre’s technology, toyota previously launched E plus Plug-in Hybrid versions of the Corolla, the Levent, and the RAV4 in China, but they haven’t really sold.
These three new vehicles coming from Toyota will use different plug-in hybrid platforms from those models, which, like I said, that technology will come from BYD.
What is certain is that if BYD’s DMI technology is adopted, Toyota will definitely carry out new polishing and tuning, and the driving experience of the final model will be different, said Toyota.
BYD’s Plug-in Hybrid DMI Platform
What is certain is that if BYD’s DMI technology is adopted, Don’t worry. Toyota will carry out new polishing and tuning.
They’ll polish it and tune it and make it better than what it is in BYD’s cars.You know who doesn’t believe that crap from Toyota.
A lot of people in America and a lot of people in Europe. Don’t get me I mean, if you believe it, I do feel sorry for you because you’ve been brainwashed since you were born by Toyota’s advertising.
They’ve spent billions of dollars brainwashing you. But you know who doesn’t believe this stuff? Chinese consumers don’t believe it.
They don’t believe it, and so they aren’t buying. Anyway, DM is BYD’s Plug-in Hybrid platform, which stands for dual mode, and was launched in 2008.
BYD’s Rising Influence
Now, the 2008 technology that BYD had, to be honest, it wasn’t really that good. Elon Musk laughed about BYD at the time, and the media have brought that up a lot of times.
But to be fair, I don’t think anyone really thought their technology was very good back then.
This month, BYD will launch their fifth generation, which will allow some models to apparently have 2,000 kilometers of CLTC range, probably about 1,500 kilometers of real-world range.
So you’re looking at nearly 1,000 miles and consumed 2.9 liters per 100 kilometers.
Now, I’ve said in the past, I don’t believe those claims, but so what? I mean, even if they’re out by 20%, it’s still amazing.
Dm has two main versions, DMI and DMP. Dmi stands for dual mode intelligent, and it emphasizes low consumption and efficiency, while DMP is used for all-wheel drive or off-road vehicles.
Recently, BYD also launched a DMO platform dedicated to hardcore off-road vehicles such as Feng-Chen Bao.
I believe that BYD will also use the DMP platform for its new pickup truck called the BYD Shark.
Recently, BYD have basically upped their game when it comes to their plug-in hybrids.
Toyota and BYD
They’ve improved them significantly And of course, we all know Toyota heavily cooperates with BYD.
In 2021, both companies established a so-called joint venture, where obviously it’s called BYD, Toyota Electric Vehicle Technology.
It’s a 50/50 share, but a lot of money comes from Toyota, and BYD do the actual manufacturing.
In 2023, Toyota launched its second all-electric car called the Toyota BZ3 Sedan, which was so-called co-engineered with BYD.
It uses BYD’s blade battery and BYD’s motors. Byd supplied the LFP battery packs, the eMotor, and other in-car technology, which is why it’s actually a pretty decent vehicle.
Now, Carnews China says Toyota has two main joint ventures in China with state-owned automakers, FAW Toyota, with first Automobile Works, and GAC, Toyota, with Guangzhou Automobil Group, or the company GAC, who make the Aon Electric car brand.
Aon Electric cars
Now, Aon Electric cars have a huge amount of respect in China. They are selling really, really well.
I believe that over the last six months, they’ve been the second best selling EV brand in China.
Under the pressure of the Chinese EV price war, the cost is an important condition that Toyota must consider.
The core fact is what do a Toyota prefers to use BYD’s DMI technology are its low cost and the fact that the technology is relatively mature.
Last month, the Beijing Auto Show, Toyota’s Chief Technology Officer, Hiroaki Nakajima, stated that the company will start making more plug-in hybrid vehicles.
So this will be nice for BYD, another source for them to get more market share without people realizing that that’s what they’re doing.
Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape
Introduction of the Prius in 1997, Toyota has seen HEVs, or just standard hybrids, as a practical solution, and with continuous advancement of battery technology as well as the development of batteries and changes in the energy situation EVs have emerged.
Now, Toyota said this, I think that the P in PHEV is not a plug-in, but a practical practical. In other words, practical EVs.
An EV is not practical if it has an engine with it, he believes.
Now, there are a lot of EVs now you can get in China that have more than 800 kilometers, even more than a thousand kilometers of range, and they’re going to be very common.
Toyota’s Path to Hybrid Innovation
So we’ll see how that plays out for Toyota Toyota. But what I want to point out here is this not many people realize that a lot of Toyota hybrids worldwide are still sold using nickel, metal, high dry batteries.
Toyota still manufacture hundreds of thousands of EVs with nickel metal hydride batteries, which are extremely heavy.
Now, you know the reason they do this? Is it because that technology is good? Well, no one else makes them, so I would say probably not.
No, it’s because Toyota just simply still have the production lines and it’s easy to just do what you’ve been doing for 24 years.