With the arrival of a new chief executive, Toyota is aggressively amping up its commitment to battery-electric vehicles. Under its new boss, the Japanese giant aims to introduce 10 new BEVs by 2026 while boosting sales of all-electric models 60-fold, officials said during a Friday meeting with the media in Tokyo.
While Toyota was an early and earnest proponent of electrification in its various forms — especially hybrids and plug-in hybrids — former CEO Akio Toyoda was equally outspoken when it came to concerns about all-electric technology. But a study he launched in the months before his surprise decision to retire encouraged Toyota to accelerate its BEV program.
“In the next few years we will expand our line-up in the important battery electric category,” Koji Sato, Toyoda’s hand-picked successor, said at the Friday briefing.
But Sato didn’t completely shift from his predecessor’s strategy, adding hybrids will remain one of the central pillars of Toyota’s powertrain strategy.
Slight strategy alteration
Currently, Toyota offers only a limited range of BEVs. In the U.S., it last year launched its first long-range model, the bZ4X. A quality glitch forced it to halt production and sales for much of the year. The automaker is just launching a second model through its luxury channel, the Lexus RZ.
The bZ4X, in particular, has generated ho-hum reviews. And due to a variety of issues, Toyota’s total worldwide sales of all-electric models came in at an equally underwhelming 25,000 last year. Sato, however, envisions boosting that to a run rate of 1.5 million by 2026. That compares with an initial forecast of 1.2 million under Toyoda.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s impossible to achieve at all,” Yoshiaki Kawano, an associate director at S&P Global Mobility told the Reuters news service.
But he cautioned that Toyota would need to bring out the right new models.
Needing changes
According to various sources, the recent internal study suggested a number of changes to Toyota’s EV program, beyond simply accelerating its product count and timing. The automaker is now expecting to develop at least one new platform for future EVs to improve on the potential capabilities of the existing “architecture.”
The e-TNGA is known to have a number of limitations that could make it difficult for future products to compete effectively. Among other things, Toyota is looking at ways to slash production costs, in line with what has been done by Tesla. And the U.S. automaker’s CEO Elon Musk recently announced plans to reduce production costs even further on next-generation product programs.
Toyota is now developing another BEV model., a crossover to built at a new assembly plant in the U.S. It also plans to source batteries locally. That should make it eligible for EV incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year.
Inside Toyota, the new CEO is known as “Captain Sato,” according to trade publication Automotive News. He spent a number of years working closely with former CEO Akio Toyoda, most recently as the head of the Lexus brand.
Sato made it clear, during his first public address as CEO, that he will continue to position hybrids and plug-in hybrids — as well as hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles — as part of Toyota’s powertrain strategy.
Virtually all new models will be offered with hybrid options by mid-decade. Two new packages are just coming to market in the U.S.: the next-generation plug-in hybrid Prius Prime, as well as the new Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. During their Friday meeting, Toyota officials noted that they are now achieving better profit margins on hybrids than on their gas-only models, Reuters reported.