Last month, Toyota made a step into a new story: Akio Toyoda announced the decision to leave the post of CEO, giving way to chief Koji Sato, who headed Lexus. It was immediately announced a revision of the strategy for the development of the model range of electric cars. Of course, it is worth being equal to the best, and in the production of electric trains, Tesla was the most successful, which the engineers of the Japanese brand opened to study the details.
Photo: TeslaTesla
With all their shortcomings of the model Tesla really can be considered the best: on the side of the engineers, there is a lot of experience in designing cars that were originally conceived as an electric car. automotive news writesthat Toyota took the Model Y apart to make sure Tesla’s approach was right.
“Undressing” Model Y, we saw a real work of art in front of us, it’s something incredible, “said a representative of Toyota, who analyzed the design.
Particularly striking was the progress – how different the current Tesla cars are from earlier designs.
The Japanese noted progress in the production part – the use of the so-called gigaling method, when a certain part is cast as a whole, and not joined from smaller parts. This has a positive effect on the weight of the car. According to rough estimates, it allowed to save up to 100 kg per car. Also praised was the battery pack, which is essentially the floor of the car. As a result of the Model Y preparation, Toyota engineers admitted that they were lagging behind the competitor, and the company needed a new platform.
Toyota has identified four main areas in which work will be carried out to close the gap: a new platform, an improved battery, a separate production site, and a programmable architecture for managing electric vehicle systems.
