EVs ‘Dirtier Than You Think’? Akio Toyoda’s Take Sparks Fresh Debate
By Team Dailyrevs June 10, 2025
When Akio Toyoda weighs in, the automotive world listens—albeit sometimes in disagreement. The blunt-speaking chairman of Toyota and ex-president has been an out-and-out contrarian on the electric vehicle (EV) juggernaut for years. And now, he's doubling down on his polarizing stance: EVs aren't as clean as most believe.
In a series of recent remarks captured on Motor1, Toyoda stated that he feels hybrids, and more specifically hybrids made by Toyota, could be an even more environmentally friendly option than purely electric vehicles, particularly if one thinks about the overall lifecycle emissions.
The Life-Cycle Emissions Dilemma
Underlying Toyoda's argument is a fairly under-examined but growingly significant concept: life-cycle emissions. EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, but Toyoda cites the upstream effect—in other words, the fossil fuels still commonly used to power electricity in most nations.
"If you look at the CO₂ emissions that result from producing the electricity that propels EVs, they can't be as clean as hybrids," he is quoted as saying, reaffirming Toyota's enthusiasm for a multi-energy plan featuring hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell cars, and EVs.
This strategy contrasts with the increasing number of automakers shifting purely to battery-electric vehicles, sometimes at the behest of governments establishing ambitious phase-out timetables for internal combustion engines.
EVs and Fossil-Fueled Power
Toyoda's argument is stronger in nations such as Japan and sections of the U.S., where thermal power stations—coal or natural gas—continue to dominate electricity generation. If EVs are charged from this source of energy, the net environmental advantage is much reduced.
As WhichCar observed in its reporting, Toyoda compared the world's push for EVs to "building a house on an incomplete foundation." With cleaner energy grids, he contends, the argument that EVs are clean and green is undercut by the fact of where that energy is sourced from.
Defending the Hybrid Strategy
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has led the way in hybrid tech since the late '90s introduction of the Prius. As some competitors aggressively pursue EV market share, Toyota has proceeded at a more measured pace to bring out full EVs, instead hedging on hybrid tech as tried, scalable, and—to them—more pragmatic transition to carbon neutrality.
Motor1 cited Toyota executives restating the automaker's position: "A 100% EV future is not the only answer. Different markets need different solutions."
Some have charged that this is a delaying tactic, intended to safeguard sunk investments in hybrid platforms. But in Toyota's view, it's a wager on real-world effect versus ideal-world possibilities.
A Broader Industry Conversation
Toyoda's words come at a moment when the EV discussion is more sophisticated than ever. Sure, EV sales are up, charging infrastructure is better, and battery prices are falling—but the conversion is hardly over.
And although Toyoda's perspective may sound backward to some, it's whispered ever more often around the boardroom tables of traditional car manufacturers who perceive the path to electrification as uncertain and geopolitically fraught.
The Reality Check
The larger point isn't that EVs are "bad" or that hybrids are the silver bullet. It's that context is important—and Toyoda wants that discussion up front.
When we discuss EV adoption, we seem to forget to say where the electricity is derived from, how the rare earth battery minerals are mined, or what becomes of the batteries at the end of their life. Such is the sort of detail that Toyota—and Toyoda—hope more people will grapple with.
Conclusion: More Shades of Green Than One
Akio Toyoda's comments may get headlines for being inflammatory, but they also capture a deeper conflict in the automotive industry: progress versus pragmatism.
The question of whether hybrids are cleaner than electric vehicles hinges on much depending on the energy system, consumer habits, and production processes. Yet one thing is certain: the road to carbon neutrality will not be linear—or uniform across markets.
And perhaps that's the actual message here: all-of-one-model, rather than all-of-one-size, might not speed us to a cleaner future as quickly—or as wisely—as a diversified one.
Source : Toyota Times
Examples of Electric Toyotas:
Examples of Hybrid Toyotas: