When Japan played host to Group of Seven leaders last week, the country’s top auto executives formed a united front to deliver a familiar message: Let’s throw everything we’ve got at carbon emissions reduction, and not just batteries.
It’s an appeal that Akio Toyoda of Toyota Motor Corp. has been making for several years, and one that he’s caught grief for as carmakers led by Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. stomp the accelerator on electric-vehicle production.
“I think I have spoken the truth,” Toyoda said in what would be his last New Year’s greeting to staff as chief executive officer. “I said these very obvious things, and was bashed terribly.”
