Complaint against Toyota
An American consumer organization has filed a complaint against Toyota with the Federal Trade Commission. It alleges that Toyota misled consumers by not disclosing exactly how electrified their models are. Public Citizen specifically says that Toyota is deliberately misleading consumers by exaggerating the level of electrification in its commercial campaigns. The interest group believes that Toyota should be clearer about the EV options for its hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric cars.
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Toyota has several ongoing campaigns in the United States that aim to emphasize how sustainable the brand is. They are called ‘Beyond Zero’, ‘Eletrified Diversified’ and ‘To Each Their Own Electric’. It is certainly a smart idea from Toyota’s marketing department, but consumers do not fully understand it. Some of the claims that Toyota makes in ads can lead consumers to believe that Toyota is a leader in electric vehicles. And anyone who follows automotive news even a little bit knows that is not the case. It’s a bit of a fuss if you ask us; it’s all a bit of criticism. For example, an ad for the new Toyota Prius where the car is hit by lightning as if it were an electric car. But according to the complaint, the Prius is hybrid and does not even have a charging port. In the US, the Prius is available as a regular hybrid and plug-in hybrid, but it is not fully electric. But this does not change the fact that the various forms of electrification (mild hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EV) are a breeze for us, but still abracadabra for many consumers. Our weekly newsletter does not beat around the bush and gives you clarity.
Lexus is also under attack. Also about the ads for the subsidiary brand Lexus, the American watchdog is not satisfied. Lexus promotes its models with internal combustion engines, but with the addition ‘electrified’. Although Lexus only offers one EV in America, the Lexus RZ 450e. The fact that Lexus recommends its hybrid models with the function of an “automatic charging electric motor” only makes things more confusing for the uninformed consumer. After all, the car also has an internal combustion engine. This cry was therefore previously banned in Norway. And it was also thrown in the trash in the Netherlands. And our country? On toyota.nl we read that Toyota is “the undisputed leader in the field of electrification.” You can really have doubts about that. It is true that Toyota had an electrified car in 1997 (namely the first Prius). But a random consumer may only think of fully electric cars. And then the claim is incorrect. In addition, the “all electric models” page also includes hybrid models, such as the Toyota Yaris Cross. Well, I’m just saying…
