Toyota has confirmed that it will increase the investment and ambition of its electric vehicle program with up to 10 new battery-powered models by 2026. To do this, Toyota will create a dedicated vehicle development division 100 % electric, the purpose of which will be the development of the next generation, with which the Japanese manufacturer wants to fill the gap with its main competitors.
According to Japanese media, it is a response to growing concern among investors and suppliers about losing ground to Tesla, as well as increasingly aggressive Chinese groups that are expanding at a rapid pace.
To respond to the new situation, Toyota recently changed its CEO. The Japanese giant’s new chief executive is Koji Sato, who told reporters at a meeting that Toyota would accelerate the development of battery-electric vehicles, but added that hybrids would remain an important mainstay of his business in the near term.
“In the coming years, we will expand our offering in the battery electric vehicle category. We will take a hands-on approach to popularize electrified models, both 1% electric and hybrid,” he said.
For his part, Toyota’s technical director, Hiroki Nakajima, has set a goal of producing 1.5 million battery electric vehicles per year by 2026.
Many wonder if this will be enough. And the fact is that, given that Toyota sold 10.5 million vehicles worldwide in 2022, we can assume, based on the figures provided by the Japanese management, that by 2026 electric vehicles will not represent only 14% of its sales.
This figure can be compared to the goals of Volkswagen, the world’s second largest automaker, last year, which expects markets like the United States and China to have a sales target of 50% by 2030, while in Europe, this figure will reach 80%.
Let’s compare the numbers predicted by Toyota with those of BYD. The fastest growing brand, which plans to produce 3 to 3.6 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2023. What will the numbers be in 2026? They are hard to predict, but more than five to six million units per year for sure.
Also read: Sales of the Chinese electric BYD e2 2023 similar to that of the Volkswagen Golf are starting.
