Why Won’t Toyota and BYD Give Up on Engines?

汽车   2024-12-11 07:03   广东  
In the face of intense market competition and powerful rivals, experts often suggest innovation and differentiation as the keys to survival. 
In practice, this often translates into what has recently been a hot topic in business circles: the strategy of "pushing boundaries."

Regardless of how controversial or dramatic the process may be, the attention generated by such incidents often elevates the parties involved to unprecedented heights.

After the dust settles, those who successfully rise to prominence continue to push boundaries, reinforcing their positions further.
In the automotive industry, dominated by engineering-driven decision-making, "Edge-skirting" strategies are neither unfamiliar nor rare.

Yet, Toyota and BYD stand out as the best practitioners, leveraging this approach to ascend to the pinnacle of the global automotive market.

The Rise of Toyota and BYD: Riding the Wave of Regulatory Changes

Toyota and BYD owe their ascent, in part, to seizing the opportunities created by global shifts in environmental regulations.

As governments around the world tightened restrictions on fuel efficiency and emissions, the automotive industry was forced to reckon with the consequences of its previously "unsustainable" growth.

In Europe, the birthplace of modern automobiles, and North America, the pioneer of industrialized car production, the industry turned to small-displacement turbocharged engines and 48V mild hybrid systems to meet these new standards.

However, most automakers failed to explore fundamentally different approaches to meeting what appeared to be unreasonable environmental demands, as pure electric vehicles at the time lacked the infrastructure and feasibility for mass adoption.

Toyota’s Innovation: The Pioneer of Hybrid Technology

Toyota’s global rise is deeply rooted in addressing pressing issues like the soaring operating costs of vehicles during economic and oil crises.

By offering engines with lower fuel consumption and emissions—sometimes even outperforming smaller turbocharged engines in efficiency—Toyota demonstrated its technological prowess.

However, Toyota didn’t stop there. Recognizing future constraints on the automotive industry, it introduced battery technology into fuel-powered cars. 

These batteries were not merely for starting engines or powering cabins but were integrated into the drivetrain itself. Importantly, this wasn’t an attempt to build pure electric vehicles, which at the time were subject to ridicule.

In 1997, Toyota launched the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car, thePrius, marking its emergence as a leader in Edge-skirting innovations within the auto industry.

Amid widespread uncertainty in the global automotive market, Toyota secured patents for hybrid technology, laying the foundation for its position as the world’s leading automaker.

Years later, as the industry rallied around fuel efficiency and emission reduction, competitors were forced to compromise on performance and engine displacement.

Toyota, on the other hand, met these new standards head-on with its hybrid technology, offering vehicles priced on par with traditional fuel cars while enhancing user experience with better performance and lower fuel consumption.

This mastery of hybrid technology not only cemented Toyota’s dominance in electrified vehicles but also positioned it for a smooth transition to plug-in hybrids, allowing it to reclaim the strategic high ground in the global race for new energy vehicles.

Looking ahead, traditional automakers outside of Toyota face a daunting reality: the only path forward appears to be pure electric vehicles, a market dominated by Tesla and increasingly crowded with Chinese competitors.

BYD’s Ambition: The World’s First Plug-in Hybrid Innovator

The spirit of Edge-skirting isn’t limited to Toyota. Against the backdrop of entrenched fuel vehicle technologies and patents, as well as Toyota’s dominance in hybrid systems, BYD boldly entered the scene with the world’s first plug-in hybrid, theF3DM, aiming to help China leapfrog global automotive leaders.

At a time when hybrid technology was dismissed as a "transitional" solution with no future, and mature battery ecosystems were nonexistent, BYD took the hard road of developing its own batteries, motors, and electronic controls—a trio known as the “three electrics.” 

This self-reliance shattered the global dominance of traditional fuel vehicle technology.

Building on Toyota’s hybrid foundation, BYD increased battery capacity, enhanced motor performance, and added external charging functionality to truly integrate fuel and electric power into a single vehicle. BYD wasn’t the first to envision this, but it was the first to make it a commercial success.

As of 2024, Toyota remains the global sales leader, delivering8.33 million vehicles from January to October, a slight year-over-year decline of 1.5%. Notably, hybrid vehicles accounted for 3.36 million units, marking a 20.7% increase.

Meanwhile, BYD achieved remarkable growth, selling 3.74 million passenger vehicles from January to November, a 39.97% year-over-year surge, making it the best-selling automaker in China and the world leader in new energy vehicle sales. Among these, plug-in hybrids accounted for 2.18 million units, an astonishing 69.45% increase.

Why They Won’t Abandon Engines: Strategic Leverage for the Future

For both Toyota and BYD, abandoning internal combustion engines is technically simple. However, strategically, they prefer to retain this "Edge-skirting" approach, leveraging engines in increasingly auxiliary roles.

Toyota has already announced the development of a next-generation engine specifically for electric vehicles, while BYD is poised to release a dedicated plug-in hybrid battery capable of over 300 kilometers of pure electric range.

Smaller, lighter, and more efficient engines, paired with high-capacity, high-performance batteries designed for hybrids, represent the competitive weapons Toyota and BYD are wielding to lead the next era of automotive development.

In contrast, traditional fuel cars, weighed down by emission and efficiency standards, and the homogenized electric vehicle market, embroiled in price wars, highlight the enduring effectiveness of Toyota and BYD’s Edge-skirting strategies. 

While they may not always dominate headlines, their sales figures leave no doubt about their continued success.(Translated by ChatGPT)

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