I was wondering how the manufacturers address the potential culture conflicts. Obama's documentary American Factory revealed two notable contentions. One is that American workers think that the management is too tough on them while the management think that the workers are too unreasonable. The other is that Chinese workers are 30% (or 2X?) more efficient than American workers. I have no judgement on the first contention, but the second worries me. American labors were known to be the best in the world many years ago, and a strong argument against offshoring manufacturing was that Chinese workers were much worse than Americans. Yet the tide has turned.
Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
141–150 of 286 posts
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Didn't the Model Y outsell the RAV4 in 2023? I guess there are estimates that go both ways on that, but nobody really disputes that the RAV4 and Model Y are neck-and-neck. Would be nice if Tesla released actual numbers.
Doesn't look like it. 4. Toyota RAV4 (434,943 units sold) 5. Tesla Model Y (385,900 units sold, estimated) https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g43553191/bestselling-cars... This source says the Model Y sold 403,897 (still behind the RAV4) https://www.visualcapitalist.com/best-selling-vehicles-in-am... This source says Model Y sales were 394,497: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/06/top-10-best-selling-cars-in-...
why do these have to be estimated? I get that Tesla might not be releasing the numbers, but these cars have to be registered, right? The registration numbers seems like it should more accurate as actual owners.
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lagging indicator. Hertz is dumping their Teslas and canceled their purchase of 65k Polestars.
If you want to cherry-pick random anecdotes I'll counter with multi-year waitlists for Hyundai EV9 despite being expensive and ineligible for the $7500 rebate.
>Hyundai EV9 despite not being expensive
It starts at €70k. In what world is this not expensive? Maybe in Bay Area Fang wages.
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
It feels "right-sized" given Toyota's approach towards EV's and the slowing adoption rate of EVs in the US.
Toyota initiated the hybrid as a modern platform, and they continue make the best selling hybrid in the world (Prius). But since they don't want to be in the business of making undesirable vehicles with short lifespans that require expensive maintenance, they have stuck to hybrids rather than full electric and all the extremely costly low lifespan batteries that go into them. Speaking as a 2004 Prius daily driver, th…
Your 2004 Prius has a lead acid battery, hows that for "low lifespan" battery?
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
What about Toyota's plans makes you think they will ever catch up to everyone else with EVs?
> What about Toyota's plans makes you think they will ever catch up to everyone else with EVs? Their history of engineering and execution. What makes you think think they can't? EV proponents like to argue that the simplicity is what makes EVs so great, but at the same time making arguments like "no one can catch up". Believe it or not, it's not a certainty that EVs are going to be the solution, rather than just an i…
Correct. Toyota's bet is simple: what makes rational economic, environmental, and good-policy sense for most locales is not an EV. It's a hybrid.
And it's a bet that's working well so far: https://fortune.com/asia/2023/12/28/toyota-hybrid-cars-sales...
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lagging indicator. Hertz is dumping their Teslas and canceled their purchase of 65k Polestars.
If you want to cherry-pick random anecdotes I'll counter with multi-year waitlists for Hyundai EV9 despite being expensive and ineligible for the $7500 rebate.
Wait lists for a manufacturer are somewhat interesting. It's interesting that Tesla and Toyota both sell cars faster than they make them, and can get away with making new car buyers wait for months.
Wait lists for a single model? I mean, maybe Hyundai just aren't making a lot of EV9s.
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#147I am curious about what vehicles these will be for. When Toyota says “EVs” they often mean hybrids. The article makes this distinction, but Toyota didn’t in any statements.
The Kentucky plant will produce the upcoming 3-row BEV called bZ5X. Additional BEVs have been announced for 2026 and will likely share battery components from Kentucky and the new battery factory being built in North Carolina.
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#148I was wondering how the manufacturers address the potential culture conflicts. Obama's documentary American Factory revealed two notable contentions. One is that American workers think that the management is too tough on them while the management think that the workers are too unreasonable. The other is that Chinese workers are 30% (or 2X?) more efficient than American workers. I have no judgement on the first conten…
> The other is that Chinese workers are 30% (or 2X?) more efficient than American workers.
What metrics is this based on?
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#149>> Environmental groups have long criticized Toyota for being slow to move toward fully electric vehicles, instead clinging to gas-electric hybrid technology. When you run a company as large and old as Toyota, you always hedge your bets. There are some other options to battery-powered electric vehicles (hydrogen IC). They are currently not as mature but anyone running something as big as Toyota needs to hedge against…
Bet hedging would’ve meant introducing the BZ4X years ago. Instead, there were 8 years between when Toyota announced their first hydrogen car and their first electric vehicle. This if an example of simply betting wrong.
Re: Toyota to invest $1.3B in Kentucky factory to build battery packs and new EV
#150I was wondering how the manufacturers address the potential culture conflicts. Obama's documentary American Factory revealed two notable contentions. One is that American workers think that the management is too tough on them while the management think that the workers are too unreasonable. The other is that Chinese workers are 30% (or 2X?) more efficient than American workers. I have no judgement on the first conten…
I don't really follow what you're trying to say with your last sentence and I'd be skeptical of a claim that Chinese workers are 30% more efficient, but Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and others have maintained US manufacturing facilities for decades and seem to be doing just fine with any potential culture conflicts.
The 30% number you cite could be true but perhaps in order for Chinese (or any other country) manufacturing to be economical perhaps it needs to be 60%. Mexico is actually important here.