The engineer in charge of Toyota's new RAV4 has secretly driven a Chinese car – and there's plenty he liked.
The engineer in charge of the new RAV4 has complimented the technology in Chinese cars after a secret test drive as part of developing the brand's latest family SUV.
While the executive liked what he saw, Toyota is not about to copy the likes of BYD, Geely and more, if it believes it is compromising on its reputation for quality and reliability.
Toyota RAV4 chief engineer Yoshinori Futonagane told Drive through an interpreter that he has driven a Chinese car as part of work on the Japanese giant’s new SUV.
The executive could not reveal the identity of the mystery model, but a BYD is a strong candidate, given it is the main Chinese brand selling cars in Japan, so Toyota could easily purchase one – not to mention the world's best-selling Chinese brand.
"Their software looks very advanced, they build a lot into that. But to be honest, their cars aren't bad either. They're actually not too bad," Futonagane-san said through the interpreter.
"I have to say their autonomous driving, [their] self-driving technology is amazing, incredibly advanced."
It is understood Futonagane-san’s answer was more positive in his native Japanese, but that it translated to English as “not too bad”.
While Toyota is studying the progress being made by Chinese car brands, the chief engineer said it would not copy them if it meant compromising its reputation.
"We're focused, we're watching that very closely, but from our point of view, we're not going to stray from our priorities of safety, security and quality," he said.
"And so we have to try and put all of those ideas they’ve got in China through that filter, and we have to say, 'Look, it's amazing, but what could we use?' It's not necessarily everything."
In some of his final remarks as Toyota CEO in March – before being succeeded by Kenta Kon in April – Koji Sato minced far fewer words on the threat Chinese marques pose to the world’s number-one car manufacturer.
"Unless things change, we will not survive. I want everyone to acknowledge this sense of crisis," said Sato-san.
Sato’s comments were made at a supplier conference where he announced Toyota would scrap what it felt were excessive quality standards, which would see small parts destined for its cars scrapped if they do not look correct, even if the components are out of sight, and operate as intended.
An example was cited of the standards forcing suppliers to scrap 10,000 vehicle wiring harnesses each month due to discolourations in the plastic.
The Toyota RAV4 project leader is not the only high-ranking Japanese automotive engineer to open up on their thoughts on Chinese cars after a test drive.
"I have [had an] experience to drive the BYD vehicle. Especially on our very tough course, on the Tochigi proving ground, we have a very special off-road course, and I drive such a car,” Sawase-san said, partially through a translator.
"But at this moment, the BYD Shark and other vehicles, the off-road capability is not so high at this moment.
"They can climb uphill, but it doesn't last very long. For a while they climb it up, but they then stop; the system protection kicks in. My feeling is that the electrified off-road vehicle development is a challenge.
"On the other hand, we have a lot to learn from the Chinese manufacturers in a sense that, until the protection system kicks in, the performance for the electric motor controlling the tyres is quite good until the heat goes up and the system stops.
"The performance and the control is quite good, and we have to learn from that."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
