Tesla vs. Toyota Is the New Hot Battle in Cars

livemint.com:

A year ago, the debate between EVs and hybrids looked settled. Now, Elon Musk’s vision for an electric-vehicle future is being challenged anew by Toyota and its re-energized hybrid plans. Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, wants to make the world electric, targeting annual vehicle deliveries that would overtake Toyota to become the bestselling automaker before 2030.

And while that goal is far off, he’s had some success—in the U.S., Tesla’s small lineup has already overtaken some of Toyota’s bestsellers. A slowdown in EV sales growth in the U.S., however, is testing Musk’s gamble. At the same time, hybrid vehicles have seen a surge in buyers this year, in part because of the success of new offerings by Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus.

“The buzz of electrification in the industry has somewhat mainstreamed hybrids," David Christ, the head of the Toyota brand in North America, said during an interview. “It’s really had an awakening." The pitch to customers for buying a hybrid is simple: Such cars are often cheaper than all-electric rivals and get some benefits of electrification with improved MPG compared with a traditional car without the headaches of having to charge like an EV. The Japanese automaker, first with the Prius sedan more than 20 years ago, helped popularize hybrid technology, which combines batteries with gas-powered motors to improve fuel efficiency.

But it is a technology that looked poised to be forgotten as hybrid sales slumped last year and EV sales rose 65%, a sign for those betting a new era was dawning. “Time to move on from hybrid cars," Musk tweeted last year. “That was a phase." Amid the EV enthusiasm, some investors agreed.