Japan's largest domestic car manufacturer Toyota has unveiled a new EV plan on 7 April, with an aim to expand electric vehicle (EV) production and sell 1.5mn units/yr by 2026.
New president and chief executive officer Koji Sato said the company will introduce ten new EV line-ups by 2026, aiming to sell 1.5 mn/yr of EVs. He added that Toyota has further plans to introduce "next-generation EVs entirely different from those of today in 2026". The new generation EVs will double driving range by using batteries with far greater efficiency, according to Sato.
But the company said it will maintain its "multi-pathway approach", meaning that Toyota will continue producing multiple types of EVs including plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) along with battery EVs. "We will continue to tailor electrification to the needs of customers and individual regions by drawing on the strengths and characteristics of each vehicle type," said Sato.
The expansion of EV production has always been part of the company's strategy, but Toyota has been "figuring out an appropriate timing to announce [it]", said chief financial officer Yoichi Miyazaki in response to a query about the feasibility of the company's EV target. "Producing battery at the most productive way is [at the] heart of manufacturing EVs and we have been carefully investigating on that," Miyazaki added.
Toyota's EV sales were around 24,000 units globally in 2022, of which more than 90pc were sold outside Japan.
Japan's domestic EV sales has been growing since 2022, but still currently accounts for less than 3pc of total car sales.
