By Redação AutoIndústria | 9/25/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch
While in Brazil, Toyota has been a fierce flex-fuel hybrid defender – it has even presented the national hybrid Corolla technology abroad – in Japan, all seems to indicate that the company would quickly accelerate the development and production of full-electric vehicles.
According to Nikkei, one of the most important and influential Japanese economic newspapers, Toyota may reach, yet in 2025, the production of 600 thousand electric vehicles a year from the Toyota and Lexus brands.
Nonetheless, the information was not confirmed by the manufacturer. If the number is confirmed, it should mean a giant and abrupt jump. Last year, battery electric vehicles made by the two brands totaled no more than 25 thousand units in all markets.
According to the Japanese publication, yet in 2023, the production of battery electric vehicles by Toyota should be about 150 thousand units, to reach close to 200 thousand next year.
The information is somehow confirmed by the manufacturer’s global electrification strategy, which previews launching at least ten electric models by 2026.
The plan, released by Koji Sato, who took office a Toyota’s CEO in the first semester, is a dramatic change in the company’s vision, which, under the lead of Akio Toyoda until then, has even questioned battery-electric vehicles viability.
