Toyota was the leader in eco-friendly hybrid vehicles for many years, according to ArsTechnica. The automotive company had a fuel-efficiency edge over its competition. However, it has recently struggled to compete with companies that sell electric vehicles such as Tesla, Nissan and Volkswagen.
Toyota has made two critical choices. First, it tethered itself to hybrids. Second, it bet its future on hydrogen. But now governments around the world are moving to ban fossil-fuel vehicles of any kind.
Confronted with a losing hand, Toyota is fighting to change the game. It has been lobbying governments to water down emissions standards or oppose fossil-fuel vehicle phaseouts. In the last four years, Toyota's political contributions to American politicians have more than doubled. By donating to congresspeople who oppose tighter emissions limits, the company funded lawmakers who objected to certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
However, according to recent surveys, somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of consumers say their next purchase will be an electric vehicle. So, Toyota has also begun to wage a campaign of FUD—fear, uncertainty, and doubt—to cast electric vehicles as unreliable and undesirable.