Toyota doesn’t think there is a market for all-electric vehicles

Funny bit from the Wall St. Journal today:

“The reason why Toyota doesn’t introduce any major [all-electric product] is because we do not believe there is a market to accept it,” Mr. Uchiyamada said in an interview following a speech on Monday at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Mr. Uchiyamada said he thinks electric vehicles require “two breakthroughs” on battery technology before they are viable as replacements for gasoline or hybrid-electric vehicles.

Toyota is an investor in Tesla Motors but doesn’t seem to quite be grasping the electric vehicle market. As an owner of a Prius plug-in, I can confirm that Toyota doesn’t grasp the concept. It is very poorly designed compared to the Tesla or even the Volt.