The Toyota engineer who developed the hybrid talks, without mincing his words, about the future of alternative propulsion.
It isn’t everyday that an engineer becomes the head of an auto company. Habitually, the ones to build a career are the ones who Bob Lutz calls ‘bean counters,’ with undisguised contempt. Takeshi Uchiyamada, instead, has succeeded. And completely on merit. Because he’s the man who developed Toyota’s hybrid technology – ‘inventing’ the Prius, and all its variants.
If, today, Toyota is the largest global manufacturer – with 9,978,000 vehicles produced in 2013 (only the Japanese could resist the temptation to alter the reality a notch further and pompously announce triumphing over the 10 million mark) – it owes a lot to this courteous gentleman, who is a lover of the sailboats. Apart from being the father of the models that now represent 13% of global sales for the brand, he steered the company from the doldrums during 2009-10. The best part is that Uchiyamada, a personality who was destined to change automobile technology forever, did not know anything about alternative propulsion when, in 1994, he was given the G21 project. They simply told him to research how a vehicle could consume half the fuel as all the rest. And he, who had no experience in leading a research team (would go on to have a thousand people under him), came up with the idea to combine a normal thermal motor with an electrical one. Initially, everyone laughed. But then they realized that Uchiyamada’s idea could work.
The rest, as they say, is history. On the occasion of Quattroruote Day, which was held in Milan earlier this year, where Uchiyamada received the Gianni Mazzocchi Award for 2014, we interviewed him. In true Japanese style, the answers were concise and precise, but anything but meaningless.
After the crisis period, Toyota returned to being the biggest manufacturer in the world. Would it have succeeded in obtaining the same result without the contribution of the hybrid range?
The hybrids have, without doubt, contributed to the increase in the tempo of the comeback. But I don’t think the hybrids can be credited with the return to success.
Many manufacturers are convinced that to meet the new emission standards imposed in Europe, it isn’t necessary to have new hybrid models – but it’s enough to optimize the current engines. What do you think?
When we decided to opt for a hybrid, the principle objective was not so much about adapting to regulations – but to face and anticipate the various problems that would present themselves from an environmental point of view. A technical decision, but also a social one. According to me, consumers, when they acquire a vehicle like the Prius, look beyond the regulations.
In which segments of the market are there margins for growth for Toyota hybrids?
Actually, 43% of our sales in Japan are made up of hybrids. At the global level, it’s 14%. In the near future, in countries that are industrialized, more than 20% of new cars will be hybrids.
And what about the traditional vehicles?
The demand from emerging markets will constitute a strong impetus in terms of quantity, this much is certain. Talking about segments, however, much depends on the market in the industrialized countries. We expect a downgrade compared to the current mix – with the progressive development of the small and medium sized SUV’s. In developing countries, economic factors will be fundamental – and, above all, light commercial vehicles will fare well.
The largest market for the Prius is the United States. Are you thinking of manufacturing them there? And Europe – is there space for another factory, other than those in England, France and the Czech Republic?
We are still evaluating the opportunity to make the Prius in the US, but the decision is influenced by a series of problems linked with components – which are produced locally to maintain competitiveness of the product. As for Europe, we are still considered to be ‘challengers.’ We, like the others, are facing problems in Europe, which restricts us in taking full advantage of the already existing capacities – this results in a difficulty to plan other factories. Using what we’ve gained with regards to reliability in hybrids, and other experiments, we would like to focus on things that others cannot do.
Now that the automotive world is based on alliances, you see the emergence of new industrial groups – do these concern you?
There are two main reasons for these mergers. The first concerns the vehicle development costs, which are increasing more-and-more. The second is that these partnerships allow you to take advantage of the strengths of each manufacturer and thus obtain a synergistic effect between the companies. So, there will be more and more alliances in the future.
More specifically, what do you think about the upcoming Fiat-Chrysler conglomerate?
We are observing this collaboration with great interest. But I cannot say how it will turn out. At this point, the two brands do not have strong overlapping markets. Thus, if they take advantage of this opportunity, there could be huge potential for mutual growth.
If, at Turin and Detroit, they decide on aiming for the hybrid (or if they are forced), will you be willing to provide them access to your know-how?
We have always thought that a single company will not possess these environmental technologies. As and when there would be such requests by a new group, we will certainly evaluate them.
And Toyota will continue its journey alone?
We have a series of technical partnerships – the most important amongst them is with BMW, which concerns hybrid technology and the development of a sports car platform. Other than these, we have no other plans. But no one can say what will happen in the future. A few years ago, none of us thought about an alliance with the Germans.
Let’s talk about technology. It is possible to imagine a future where the hybrid systems will reign supreme compared to other systems – maybe thanks to the introduction of an electrical/petrol system with lesser sophistication and cost?
Our threshold for entry-level hybrids is the Yaris Hybrid. Imagining a model much smaller than that is difficult. In the utility section, the consumption of small displacement engines is already low. If we reduce them further, we would have to adopt a system that is more efficient and expensive – and this will not go well with the increasing pressure on costs. We have tried low-cost solutions, but the efficiency improves very marginally. We are realistic. We can optimize the already existing system, but developing a new one from scratch does not make much sense.
Some competitors seem to be moving towards plug-in hybrids.
There are, without doubt, possibilities in that solution – and, in fact, we are not just looking, we too are moving in that direction. The fact that more-and-more manufacturers are looking at the plug-in is positive for the sector. Competition contributes to the progress of component makers.
They say that, in order to concentrate on hybrid vehicles, you put aside EV’s. Is that really so?
Maybe we gave an impression of being a little slow on EV’s, because we’re contributing many resources towards the rest. The truth is that we have also spent a lot on electrics. But my conclusion is that full EVs, given the current level of batteries, cannot yet be a valid alternative. First, we need to overcome four obstacles – range, recharge time, also cost and life of the battery itself. In this regard, the life of the batteries applied to hybrids last as long as the vehicle – while in EV’s, it doesn’t exceed five years.
Initially, it was said that the cost of producing the Prius was uneconomical, because of the cost of the industrial batteries it used. Have you been able to resolve that problem?
I would say so. Arriving at the third generation of the model, the cost of production has been reduced by a third. And the gain has been largely linked with the evolution of the battery itself.
What should we expect from the new generation of the Prius that will arrive next year?
One of the major criticisms by customers is that the vehicle, which offers extreme levels of economy and environmental compatibility, is not very enjoyable to drive.
We know very well what the (few) weaknesses of Prius are. But the next series will get better still. We have brought significant improvements in terms of consumption, making the design being more modern, and the performance more engaging. The transmission system, for example, will not be modified – but we will change the logic of functioning so as to make it more enjoyable and immediate.
You have already announced that, in 2015, you will bring fuel cells to the market. Is it not too early?
Maybe. But the intent is to experiment with an automobile with zero emissions that is an alternative to electric cars – also for opening a road to the diversification of fuels, because hydrogen can be produced in many ways. But it needs infrastructure. Without that, one will not get anywhere. Thus, hypothetically, the fuel cells can have a future in those markets where they have tried, without success, to go fully EV and those where there is a political willingness to build infrastructure for producing hydrogen. But we are talking about a long-term horizon – much more so than it took for hybrids to be accepted.
THE MILESTONES OF HIS CAREER - A LIFETIME DEDICATED TO TOYOTA
• Takeshi Uchiyamada was born on 17th August 1946 in a Japan that was destroyed by the Second World War
• In 1969, he graduated from the University of Nagoya in Applied Physics. After completion of his studies, he followed the footsteps of his father – an engineer at Toyota – and was employed by the automaker
• Initially, he worked in the noise, vibration and harness department. By virtue of his experience as a programmer of control systems, in 1993, he was put partly in charge of project Global 21st century – formed to research a sedan for five people with low fuel consumption. The idea of a hybrid engine, which was mooted by Uchiyamada, was not foreseen initially. He would go on to became responsible for the whole project
• The first prototype was presented at the end of 1995. In 1997, the Prius was launched to the public. In 2000, Uchiyamada was promoted to the head of the Customer Service division. In 2004, as Director for global production, he managed the global expansion of Toyota
• In 2005, he joined the Board of Directors, and in June 2013 he was nominated as Chairman of the Toyota Group
GIANNI MAZZOCCHI AWARD 2014 - HONORS FOR MERIT
During Quattroruote Day, the Toyota Chairman was recognized by Editoriale Domus.
Even a sober Japanese engineer, head of the biggest automobile company, gets emotional. When the entire audience of Quattroruote Day, which took place earlier this year, stood up to give a standing ovation to the recipient of the Gianni Mazzocchi Award, conferred by Giovanna Mazzocchi Bordone (President of Editorial Domus), the courteous and timid manager was caught in an emotional moment.
Uchiyamada remembered the first steps of the hybrid project. He – who had no experience with alternative propulsion – was called on to lead a team of more than a thousand people. There was a long period when he was convinced that he had not made the right choice. “In autumn of 1995, the first prototype vehicle did not even move. For 49 days, in the months of November and December, the vehicle didn’t move even a centimetre. And I couldn’t put myself to sleep. When the concept of what would later become the Prius came into being, and succeeded in covering 500 metres, I distinctly remember that I sat and cried.” Uchiyamada then left space for a justified moment of pride. “It might not seem modest to say the following, but I think that the facts are on my side – the Prius has become the most important vehicle for the future of the Toyota brand. In 2013, the hybrids from our range sold 6 million units. Of these, more than 3.2 million can be attributed single-handedly to the Prius range.” A proud father.
PAST WINNERS - A LONG LIST OF TOP BRASS
The Winners of the Gianni Mazzocchi Award have left an indelible mark on the technical and social history of the automobile industry.
© Riproduzione riservata
Write your Comment