Last week Toyota surprised the Asian auto community with the Toyota Innova EV concept. For those in countries without the Innova, it's a relatively small and light seven seater MPV designed for emerging markets. Go to any city in Southeast Asia and you will see them everywhere.

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So when they unveiled the EV version to everybody's surprise, it instantly made sense. Take a mass produced, widely loved and affordable car, and make it electric. It's a common tactic, though typically carmakers use it on more expensive vehicles like the 3 series. They made it look more fancy with blue accents and fun graphics, but really it's a study in bolting an EV propulsion system into an existing platform.

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Bad news though, they immediately said that it wouldn't go into production in this form. It's just an engineering study. Come on, Toyota - really?

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This could have been the most important electric car ever, in my humble opinion. Yes, Tesla popularized electric transportation and made it desirable. They brought gas-free cars into the mainstream and deserve all of the credit for that.

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What they won't accomplish though, is electrifying the rest of the world. The world outside of the West, where people cannot afford $60,000+ cars, where road space is tight and vehicle taxes are outrageous. Though to be honest, only a small percentage of the US population can afford a Tesla...

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Solving climate change will require electrification of every car on earth. Not just wealthy countries, though obvious that's the best place to start. No, it will take mass produced electric cars that are attainable, affordable and versatile for countries where the car is a massive luxury. This is what the Innova EV would have been.

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But how will this be possible with cars built from the ground up to be electric? Car companies will have to get back their massive investments with high sticker prices. There's a reason that cheap EVs (that are any good) don't exist yet - because they're too expensive to make!

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Toyota has the right idea with this. Slap in an electric powertrain, make it drive well and charge in a reasonable amount of time, and you will sell a ton of them. Sure there will be sacrifices for efficiency, given the somewhat less aerodynamic body than a Prius or Model S. But it will be progress! It will make it attainable!

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And above all, it will bring down the cost of battery tech across the board. Economies of scale, using a car that is already produced massively at scale. Imagine if Toyota decided to make the Innova EV a loss leader to get these out into the real-world. Price them only a bit more than a gas Innova, and taxi fleets across Asia would eat these up. Especially with gas prices like they are now and the amount of idling in Bangkok or Jakarta traffic these things do. And if you have ever sat in an Uber in one of these cities, your lungs will show you why EVs are required right now.

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This kind of mass production is truly what could save the world. Flood the most populated countries on earth with these stop-gap electric vehicles with typical Toyota dependability, and the electric ball will really get rolling. A bespoke electric vehicle for the masses is too far away, I'm afraid. We need realistic solutions, and we need them today.

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Toyota would get so much real-world testing data with a fleet of these. Charge times would go down, dependability would go up, and taxis would finally see the benefits of electrification in countries with less money.

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The problem is that Toyota isn't willing to risk its image as a pioneer of technology on a car that only has a claimed 200 kilometres of range. Ego is getting in the way of progress. Which is funny given the low rent interiors, tiny wheels and less safe cars they're willing to sell in these emerging markets currently.

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Come on Toyota - the world needs the Innova EV.