As anticipated, new Toyota CEO Koji Sato is kicking the automaker’s EV plans up a notch or two, or so it appears.
In his first press convention since taking the reins on April 1, Sato-san stated the corporate was planning to launch 10 new EVs between now and 2026. By 2026, the automaker is anticipating to promote 1.5 hundreds of thousands EVs per yr.
Final yr Tesla, the world’s main producer of EVs, offered 1.31 million automobiles worldwide.
In line with numbers compiled by Automotive Information, Toyota offered 24,466 pure EVs globally in 2022, which is a drop within the ocean — or 0.2 per cent — of the ten,610,604 automobiles offered by the corporate throughout its Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino manufacturers.
On the broader electrification entrance, Toyota moved over 2.6 million hybrids final yr throughout its 4 marques, making up simply shy of 25 per cent of whole gross sales.
Of the ten new EVs promised by 2026, two might be fashions developed particularly for China to “match to the native wants”.
One other might be a three-row crossover to constructed within the US from 2025. This mannequin will include a locally-sourced battery so as to maximise its qualification for federal EV tax credit.
For Asia and different rising markets, Toyota is planning to supply “battery EV pickup vehicles” — probably an EV variant of the favored HiLux ute, presumably primarily based on the HiLux Revo EV idea teased in December — in addition to “launch a small battery EV mannequin”.
Most of the 10 new EVs might be primarily based on the e-TNGA structure that underpins the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra crossovers, Lexus RZ, and the China-only Toyota bZ3 sedan, which makes use of BYD motors and BYD Blade batteries.
It’s unclear, proper now, how lots of the 16 EV ideas unveiled in December 2021 will now make it into manufacturing. These ideas have been a part of an announcement committing to a complete funding of 4 trillion yen ($45 billion) in electrical automotive and expertise improvement by the tip of 2030. At the moment, Toyota was focusing on 3.5 million EVs per yr by 2030.
Lexus will head the automaker’s EV cost. Not solely will it turn out to be an solely EV model by 2035, it expects to promote 1.0 million EVs every year by 2030.
Whereas the 1.5 million EVs per yr goal by 2026 appears extremely bold at first look — particularly given all the difficulty each producer, each new and outdated, has gone by to ramp up EV manufacturing — Toyota says it has been a part of the plan for some time.
In line with Yoichi Miyazaki, Toyota’s chief monetary officer, the automaker solely needed to publicly reveal the determine after securing sufficient battery provide.
Because it grapples with making its 1.5 million EV goal a actuality, Toyota can also be busy engaged on a brand new structure that may characteristic “double [the] driving vary through the use of batteries with far larger effectivity”.
Coupled with this, the agency will overhaul its a lot vaunted Toyota Manufacturing System to chop the variety of processes by half, flagging modifications together with “autonomous inspections and unmanned transport powered by linked expertise”.
With right now’s extremely environment friendly manufacturing system, Toyota has an working margin of round 10 per cent, among the best amongst legacy automotive makers, however it pales compared to the 20 per cent margin at the moment loved by Tesla.
Toyota is aiming to have its manufacturing services carbon impartial by 2035, and of those manufacturing modifications might be overseen by a brand new division throughout the firm.
Regardless of its renewed curiosity in EVs, Toyota stays dedicated to different types of electrification, primarily hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) particularly in components of the world which aren’t prepared for EVs. With improved battery effectivity, Toyota plans to double the EV driving vary of its PHEV fashions to 200km.
It additionally isn’t giving up on gasoline cell automobiles (FCEVs) both, however “will pursue mass manufacturing centered on business automobiles”.