Another Automaker Speaks Out About The Dangers Of An EV-Only Society

While Toyota is the most notorious brand for speaking out against the concept of an EV-only solution to carbon neutrality in the automotive segment, more automakers are speaking up than ever before and sharing the same sentiment. The latest of them is Ineos Automotive, manufacturers of the Grenadier off-roader.

Autocar reports that Lynn Calder openly suggested an EV-only approach is not going to work. Addressing the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' (SMMT) Electrified conference, Calder said a balance of electric, hybrid, and hydrogen is the best mix, echoing the sentiments of Toyota.

"We talk about EVs all the time," Calder said. "I think that is quite dangerous. I think we're going to need a mix. I think we need a plan, because at the moment, if we just say electric vehicles are the way forward for the UK, and that's all we are going to have, I think there is a risk we are going to fail and a risk that it is going to be expensive."

Ineos currently has diesel and gasoline-powered versions of the Grenadier and Grenadier Quartermaster pickup but is also developing a hydrogen fuel-cell version of the SUV. Furthermore, a smaller electric off-roader is inbound from the brand in the next couple of years.

After rebuttal from several other important figures at the conference, Calder doubled down on her claims, highlighting how EVs are not a silver bullet solution that suits everyone's needs. What about those who live and work in remote areas, for example?

"There are vehicles out there that aren't going to be ideally suited to electric," she explains. "Ours, we believe, is one of them as it is going to be used in a way that will mean it is towing things, working hard; it is going to be up mountains; it is going to be in the middle of nowhere.

"If you really want to use it like that, electric is not a great answer based on the infrastructure around today."

She was backed by Toyota UK boss Augustin Martin, who claimed that "If carbon is the enemy, it cannot be solved by one technology alone. Choice can never be bad." This was a sentiment shared by Akio Toyoda, who famously proclaimed that "the enemy is carbon dioxide, not internal combustion."

Augustin also looked at the fact that some global markets are well behind Europe and the US in their EV adoption curves, and some countries simply don't have the infrastructure to go full EV. "Not every region [in the world] is at the same place," he said.

Legislators seem to be looking for a one-size-fits-all solution, but it simply doesn't exist. In some markets, hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen combustion may be the answer, while in others, electric works fine. For certain market segments, synthetic fuel is perfectly viable.

"Every effort to reduce carbon should be applauded. Every reduction is great. That is how we build the path," Augustin concluded.