Japan’s automotive giants are racing to develop solid-state batteries and forge foreign alliances to regain the edge in global sales as electric vehicle leaders BYD and Tesla take over.
Japanese car makers made an early bet on hybrid vehicles, such as Toyota’s RAV4 hybrid, but they have fallen behind in the electric vehicle race. Bloomberg
Japan’s car makers, once a disruptive force in global markets, have been wrong-footed in the race to tap growing global demand for electric vehicles.
With take-up for alternatives to the internal combustion engine slow in its domestic market, Toyota’s early bet on hybrid technology, while profitable, has left it trailing in pure EV development.
Jessica SierNorth Asia correspondentJessica Sier is the North Asia Correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. She is based in Tokyo, Japan. Jessica has previously written on technology, global capital markets and economics. Connect with Jessica on Twitter. Email Jessica at jessica.sier@afr.com
