• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • All Articles
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Archives for toyota

toyota

Electric Cars On The Rise | Earth Wise           

May 16, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Sales of electric vehicles surging

The first quarter of the year was a tough one for the U.S. auto industry.  Overall sales of cars and trucks were down 15.7% compared with last year.   Automakers have been dealing with shortages of computer chips and other supplies, resulting in slowdowns in production.

The one major exception to the trend has been sales of electric cars.  In the first quarter, U.S. electric vehicle sales were up 76% compared with last year.  This was enough to double EV’s market share to 5.2%, up from 2.5% last year.

Reaching a five percent market share is a significant indicator that electric vehicles are becoming mainstream.  According to many industry analysts, this is just the beginning of a major ramp-up in EV sales.

The strong results in the first quarter were largely driven by one company – namely, Tesla.  Tesla has been expanding rapidly and has been proactive and creative in avoiding delays due to parts shortages.  Tesla’s best-selling car is now the Model Y, which is an SUV implementation of its Model 3 design.  Overall, the company is now producing cars at a rate of more than 1 million per year and has recently opened new manufacturing plants in Texas and in Germany.

But Tesla is not the only story in the world of electric vehicles.  Mass production is beginning for Ford’s F-150 Lightning truck. 

Nissan, Hyundai and Kia have electric cars on the market and shortly near-twin electric models jointly developed by Subaru and Toyota will be available as well.

The electrification of vehicles is an essential step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  With gasoline at painfully high prices, electric cars are more attractive than ever.

**********

Web Links

Inside Clean Energy: US Electric Vehicle Sales Soared in First Quarter, while Overall Auto Sales Slid

Photo, posted October 13, 2017, courtesy of Rob Bertholf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Policy Moves on Electric Cars | Earth Wise

February 26, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The transition to electric vehicles is underway

In recent times, there have been several significant events affecting the transition to electric vehicles.  The new administration has made aggressive moves toward fighting climate change.  Wall Street investors have placed more value on Tesla stock than that of GM, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Ford combined.  China, the world’s largest car market, recently mandated that most new cars must be powered by electricity within 15 years.

Against this background, the CEO of General Motors announced in late January that the company will aim to sell only zero-emission cars and trucks by 2035.

This announcement took the rest of the auto industry by surprise.  In the past, the industry tended to present a united message on emissions and other policy issues.  This time around, GM has stepped out in front of the issue.

GM has already committed to spending $27 billion to introduce 30 electric vehicle models by 2025 and is building a plant in Ohio to make batteries for those cars and trucks.

A key driver in the GM decision, no doubt, was an executive order signed by President Biden on his first day of office.  The order directed the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately begin developing tough new tailpipe pollution regulations, designed to reduce the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Even before the change in administration, five other major automakers – BMW, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, and Volvo – had already legally bound themselves to tougher fuel economy standards in a deal with California.  Those companies committed to an average fuel economy of 51 miles per gallon in 2026.

While no other large automaker has set a specific target date for selling only electric vehicles, many of them are moving in that direction.  The rapid growth of Tesla is an indicator of where the auto industry is heading.

**********

Web Links

G.M. Announcement Shakes Up U.S. Automakers’ Transition to Electric Cars

Photo, posted July 29, 2017, courtesy of Steve Jurvetson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Strategies To Promote Green Products | Earth Wise

March 26, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

downplay greenness to consumers to sell products

Green products are environmentally-friendly products with features that are less harmful to people and the planet.  For instance, green products may require fewer resources to produce, consume less energy, contain non-toxic ingredients, or create fewer emissions.  Some examples include biodegradable waste bags, LED light bulbs, low-flow shower heads, organic cotton clothing, and reusable coffee cups and water bottles.  

But according to new research from two universities in the United Kingdom, companies looking to promote their latest environmentally-friendly product should actually downplay its greenness if they want consumers to buy it.

The study, by researchers from the University of East Anglia and the University of Leeds, found advertising that highlights a product’s green attributes can lead consumers to associate it with weak performance.  The findings, which were recently published in the Journal of Advertising, indicate that companies should downplay a product’s green qualities and instead promote it on more traditional aspects.

An example of these two distinct advertising strategies – green emphasis versus green understatement – can be found in the auto industry.  Car manufacturer Toyota prominently highlights the low emissions and low fuel consumption features of the Prius, employing what the researchers term as ‘explicit signals’.  In contrast, automaker Tesla reduces the prominence of its green attributes, focusing instead on its cars’ acceleration, handling, and other performance-related characteristics.  This is known as the ‘implicit signals’ marketing approach.

After conducting two experiments, the research team found that the implicit, rather than explicit, marketing approach about greenness leads to higher performance evaluations and purchase intent.

Consumers appear more likely to engage in pro-social actions when it’s accompanied by some form of personal benefit. 

**********

Web Links

Highlighting product greenness may put consumers off buying

Photo, posted December 21, 2019, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Hydrogen Powered Cars

October 31, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/EW-10-31-18-Hydrogen-Powered-Cars.mp3

Hydrogen-powered cars are trying to make inroads in the rapidly-evolving automobile market. Several major automakers – including Hyundai, Toyota and Honda continue to invest heavily in the technology while selling a limited number of cars around the world.

[Read more…] about Hydrogen Powered Cars

A New Way To Store Hydrogen

September 20, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/EW-09-20-18-A-New-Way-to-Store-Hydrogen.mp3

Several major automakers including Toyota, Honda and BMW are betting that hydrogen-fueled cars will be a dominant technology in the future.  There are a number of technical and economic problems to be solved before that can happen.  Producing hydrogen in an cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way is critical.  But beyond that, one of the biggest challenges is the transportation and storage of hydrogen.

[Read more…] about A New Way To Store Hydrogen

Carmakers Protecting The Ground And Air

January 30, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EW-01-30-18-Carmakers-Protecting-Ground-And-Air.mp3

There is quite a bit of effort underway to reduce the amount of pollution automobiles dump into the atmosphere.  The expanding role of electric cars is a big part of this.

[Read more…] about Carmakers Protecting The Ground And Air

Toyota’s Hydrogen Factory

January 15, 2018 By EarthWise 2 Comments

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/EW-01-15-18-Toyotas-Hydrogen-Factory.mp3

Toyota is one of several automakers that are promoting hydrogen fuel cell cars – electric cars that get their energy from fuel cells rather than batteries.  Fueling one of these cars is much like filling up the tank of a gasoline-powered car, except that the fuel in question is hydrogen.

[Read more…] about Toyota’s Hydrogen Factory

GM And Fuel Cells

November 30, 2017 By EarthWise 1 Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/EW-11-30-17-GM-and-Fuel-Cells.mp3

There has been a spate of announcements from major car manufacturers in recent times detailing their plans to electrify their future vehicles.  General Motors recently announced its “path to zero emissions” plan which includes the introduction of at least 20 electric vehicles by 2023.  They are joining Volvo, Volkswagen, Toyota and others in making such an announcement.

[Read more…] about GM And Fuel Cells

A Faster Car Battery

September 11, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/EW-09-11-17-A-Faster-Car-Battery.mp3

There is more and more interest in electric cars and, based on the half million advance orders for the Tesla Model 3, more and more of us plan to be driving them.  For many of us, the technology is already good enough to meet most if not all of our motoring needs.

[Read more…] about A Faster Car Battery

Japan’s Hydrogen Future

February 22, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/EW-02-22-16-Japan-Hydrogen-Future.mp3

Japan is a country seeking energy independence as well as environmental credibility.  It has grappled with nuclear disaster at Fukushima and is currently the sixth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.

[Read more…] about Japan’s Hydrogen Future

Primary Sidebar

Recent Episodes

  • Sea Level Rise And Global Security | Earth Wise
  • Keeping The Keeling Curve Going | Earth Wise
  • Great Salt Lake In Danger | Earth Wise
  • Distributed Wind Energy | Earth Wise
  • Solar Power At Night | Earth Wise

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)

Copyright © 2023 ·