Toyota is not convinced that the world will be ready to give up gas vehicles by 2040.
Several carmakers signed an agreement Wednesday at the United Nations climate summit, stating that they would commit to only selling new zero-emission vehicles by 2040 — Toyota, however, declined to sign.
“We are ready to accelerate and help support with appropriate zero-emission vehicles,” a spokesperson for Toyota told Reuters. “However, in many areas of the world such as Asia, Africa, Middle East … an environment suitable for promoting full zero-emission transport has not yet been established.”
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“We think it will take more time to make progress[…] thus, it is difficult for us to commit to the joint statement at this stage,” Toyota told the outlet.
German automaker Volkswagen also declined to sign the agreement, stating that the tempo of electric vehicle adoption would “vary from region to region.” Volkswagen Chairman Herbert Diess dismissed the pledge, claiming that it may still “make sense to use synthetic fuel cars in Latin America in 2035.”
The COP26 Declaration on Accelerating the Transition to 100% Zero-Emission Cars and Vans asks automakers to “work towards reaching 100% zero-emission new car and van sales in leading markets by 2035 or earlier.”
The Declaration was signed by Ford Motors, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and several other automakers worldwide.
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As of 2021, there are 1.3 million electric vehicles in the United States, according to the International Energy Agency.
Electric vehicle sales are projected to surpass 7 million vehicles globally in 2021.
Rolls-Royce announced in September that it intends to only sell electric vehicles by 2030.
