Japanese Automakers Fail Miserably: Tesla & BYD Lead EV Space (Report)

A new report breaks down the world's EV leaders, transitioners, and laggards, and we find it compelling.

red tesla model y driving

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

May 31, 2023 at 8:37am ET

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A new report ranks global automakers based on their EV efforts to date. This means it looks at their current progress in the transition from gas to electric cars and determines whether the company is a leader, transitioner, or laggard. All Japanese automakers perform despicably, and only Tesla and BYD are deemed "leaders."

The report was put together by The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and referred to as The Global Automaker Rating 2022. Based on the data put together for the study, Tesla and BYD are the only "leaders" among the world's top 20 light-duty carmakers. Meanwhile, 12 companies are categorized as "transitioners," with BMW and Volkswagen leading the pack. Finally, the six "laggards" are comprised of five Japanese brands and one Indian automaker.

In order to come up with each automaker's ranking and rating, the ICCT looked at the market share of each, its technology, and its strategic vision. Tesla is the only brand on the list that only makes EVs and has never produced gas cars. There's no question of its vision. BYD is quickly transitioning to a producer of only EVs. It built its last gas-only car in March 2022, though it's still making plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

As you can clearly see based on the ICCT's chart above, there are more brands in the positive than the negative. Moreover, many of those falling in the middle area of the chart (transitioners) are relatively closely matched when you look at the overall scores and the various category scores.

It's arguably interesting to see where General Motors lands compared to Ford and Hyundai/Kia. In addition, while Mercedes-Benz has started cranking out EV models and making them readily available at its dealerships, BMW fares much better.

It comes as no surprise that Toyota is considered a laggard, though based on its decisions about EVs over the years, it is surprising it earns the highest ranking among laggards, closely followed by Honda and Nissan. However, Nissan has had the Leaf on the road for many years, and while Honda hasn't gone headfirst into EVs, it has been dabbling.

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It clearly comes down to the strategic vision, or lack thereof, that drags automakers down into laggard territory. Tesla is already at 100% zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) and always has been, and many rival automakers have high targets for the future. Sadly, Toyota's target is just 39% based on the data, and the ZEV investment is disappointing as well.

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There's a whole lot more to digest, so be sure to follow the source link below and check out the entire report. Once you've had a chance to pore over it, scroll down and leave us a comment.

Source: International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) via Teslarati

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