(Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp.’s North American COO criticized U.S. policies favoring the rapid adoption of electric vehicles, calling them “de facto mandates” out of sync with consumer demand.

Noting that government support for electric vehicles has been a hotly debated issue during the U.S. presidential election, Jack Hollis, chief operating officer of Toyota North America, said sales of fully electric vehicles are expected to grow significantly. organic, without rules penalizing sales of gasoline cars.

“The whole electric vehicle ecosystem is ahead of the consumer,” Hollis told reporters Friday, pointing to tailpipe emissions rules from the Environmental Protection Agency and California. “This is not in line with consumer expectations. This is simply not the case.

In March, the EPA set strict emissions limits that require automakers to accelerate sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models over the next few years to cap carbon dioxide at 85 grams per mile. here 2032. This Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration policy was a frequent target of President-elect Donald Trump in the run-up to the November 5 election.

California, the nation’s largest auto market, has even stricter regulations aimed at phasing out all new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, and many states are adopting those rules. Hollis, who is also Toyota’s U.S. sales director, said these vehicles contribute to an affordability crisis because electric vehicles tend to be more expensive than gasoline vehicles.

But he declined to speculate on whether Toyota would join any potential effort by the new Trump administration to block California’s rules on zero-emission vehicles. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.” “It’s not an area I’m prepared to get into” at this point, he said.

Toyota was one of the last automakers to withdraw support for efforts by the first Trump administration to block California from continuing to set its own emissions standards.

Toyota plans to roll out two American-made electric vehicles in 2026, in addition to the two fully electric models it currently sells in the United States. It’s part of its incremental approach to an industry-wide transition to electric vehicles, sales of which have slowed globally.

Hollis said the Japanese company is considering a possible future adjustment to the ratio of all-electric and hybrid-electric batteries produced at a new factory in North Carolina. The factory, which is expected to open next year, includes 10 battery production lines for fully electric or rechargeable models, and four lines dedicated to hybrid batteries.

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