豐田章男(Akio Toyoda) 在接受媒體採訪的時候談到，他們設置了新部門是為了
改變他們對於汽車開發的看法，並且仿效一些更接近新創公司的地方，像是Tesla.
豐田章男：
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我想要改變在電動車上的工作方式，
也許我們也會稱之為電動汽車，但多了連結性。
(英文太差不太會翻，原文是：Maybe we will call them electric vehicles,
but introduce connectivity.)
Toyota在造車，Tesla也在造車，但是Tesla正在造的東西更像是iPhone.
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他也特別提到了Tesla的連接性和可升級性。
而談到對於Toyota在電動車上所做的努力，豐田章男說：
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不管是Yaris或是其他車款，一但電氣化，加速性會是一樣的。
我會對這些電動車負責的理由是因為不想要讓這些車僅僅只是商品。
即使這些車輛電氣化，我也希望能夠說我愛這些車。
(I want the prefix “I love' to be affixed to those cars.”)
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個人感想：
豐田章男這個大老闆看來心底很清楚呀
新一代車輛不僅僅只是電氣化，把燃油車變成電動車這麼簡單而已
當然不同的駕駛體驗也是一大賣點
但更重要的是可連網以及升級性
如果只是單單改變動力來源像Chevrolet Bolt這樣
只會成為茫茫車海中一個不起眼的選擇
電動車的連網以及後續可升級性才是與舊時代燃油車的最大不同點
就像智慧手機那樣，只要下載一個App，就能夠幫你的車添加新功能
原文連結：
https://electrek.co/2017/05/19/toyota-ceo-tesla-iphone-electric-vehicles/
原文內容：
Toyota CEO on Tesla: "what they are producing is something close to an iPhone"
Late last year, Toyota finally took a significant step toward making
electric vehicles after years of being stuck in fuel cell development.
They set up a new division to build their first all-electric vehicle and
they even put CEO Akio Toyoda in charge of the new team.
Now Toyoda is apparently still fleshing out the Japanese automaker’s
electric vehicle strategy and looking at Tesla for inspiration.
In a recent interview with Automotive News, Toyoda explained that they
set up the new division in order to change the way they think about car
development and mimic something closer to a startup – like Tesla.
The executive said:
“I want to change the way they work on EVs. Maybe we will call them
electric vehicles, but introduce connectivity. Think about Tesla. Tesla
is producing cars. And Toyota is producing cars. But what Tesla is
producing is something close to an iPhone.”
Toyoda is especially referring to the level of connectivity and
upgradeability of Tesla’s vehicles – the fact that they can add
features simply through software updates.
Lately, automakers seem to really be playing into Tesla’s mission to
accelerate the advent of electric transport. CEO Elon Musk often said
that he hoped for Tesla to not only accelerate the transition through its
own production of EVs, but also by giving a push to other automakers.
Earlier this week, Volvo’s CEO also gave a nod to Tesla for creating
more electric vehicle demand in that sense.
Toyoda added about Toyota’s electric vehicle effort:
“When it comes to electric vehicles, every car, be it the Yaris or
whatever, once it is electrified, the acceleration is all the same. The
reason I am responsible for EVs as well is that I don’t want to make
these cars a commodity. Even with the electrification of the vehicles, I
want the prefix “I love’ to be affixed to those cars.”
That’s interesting considering Toyota is partly credited for turning
cars into a commodity and electric vehicles could use some of that –
meaning mass production at low prices.
It’s clear that they are still fleshing out their strategy here and even
though they have only been working on it for a few months, they say that
they plan to bring their first all-electric vehicle to market by 2020.
In the meantime, Toyota is still betting on its plug-in Prius, which we
recently tested and we weren’t impressed with: The Electrek Review: 2017
Prius Prime – This is not the EV you’re looking for
Featured Image: Toyota unveils a new EV concept and it’s another ‘
weird-mobile’ [Gallery]