Sunday Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: Breaking the price barrier?

Japanese manufacturers are trying to play catch-up in the EV race after years of backing the wrong horse. That horse is hybrid cars. The Japanese automotive industry ploughed billions of dollars into hybrid technology in the belief that it was the most practical answer to global warming. However, the startling pace with which pure battery-powered electric cars have become mainstream has caught Japan’s car makers flat-footed and now they’re tripping over each other to bring an all-electric car to the market as quickly as possible. Lexus, the Toyota-owned luxury brand, has announced a raft of new electric cars it will be launching in this decade.