For the longest time, Toyota Motor’s (NYSE: TM) only electrified cars have been hybrids such as the Toyota Prius hybrid, first launched in October 1997. But while fellow automakers and electric vehicle (“EV”) startups have developed a variety of pure battery-electric vehicles (“BEVs”) and unveiled plans to produce even more EV models over the next decade, the Japanese automaker has dragged its feet in comparison. However, Toyota recently announced that it is finally wading into the battery electric vehicle segment and significantly increasing its EV lineup.
The automaker plans on investing a whopping $70 billion on electrification over the next decade, CEO Akio Toyoda says, with one-half of it going to battery electric vehicle development. This massive investment would see Toyota, currently one of the largest automakers on the globe, build 30 new battery-powered electric cars by 2030. Toyota also wants to ramp up global battery electric vehicle sales until it achieves 3.5 million units sold per year by 2030. According to Toyoda, the Japanese carmaker will invest $3.3 billion in the research and development of electric vehicle battery technology, adding to a broader $39 billion investment in BEVs.
Toyoda says it is also investing another $35 billion in developing other types of EVs such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, such as the Toyota Mirai. Speaking during a briefing on Toyota’s EV battery strategies, he said that keeping an eye on trends while being flexible with the type and amounts of products produced is crucial if Toyota intends to survive in this “diversified and uncharted era.” Swiftly adapting to industry changes and giving customers more options is more important than trying to predict the automotive industry’s future, he said.
As per Toyota’s plans, 100% of Lexus sales should be electric in North America, Europe and China by 2030 and worldwide by 2035. Toyoda also says the firm is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality at all its manufacturing facilities by the year 2035. This investment marks a significant shift in Toyota’s apparent attitude towards electrification. Although the carmaker became one of the pioneers of hybrid vehicle technology when it launched the Toyota Prius more than two decades ago, it hasn’t been a fan of battery-electric cars.
Last month, Reuters reported that Toyota had refused to join a group of six automakers in signing a proclamation to phase out the sale of new fossil fuel-powered cars by 2024 at the UN Climate Conference. In June, it was revealed that the Japanese firm was quietly lobbying in Washington to slow down the adoption of electric cars. However, it seems as if Toyota is now going all-in on electrification and joining the likes of ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp. Ltd. (NASDAQ: SOLO) in this nascent industry.
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