Photo: Toyota | Edited
Toyota CEO Koji Sato held his first press conference since replacing Akio Toyoda, promising 10 new electric vehicles in the next three years. The sales target in 2026 is an ambitious 1.5 million EVs, as Sato warned the auto industry is in a "life or death situation."
In December 2021, Toyota announced 30 new electric vehicles by 2030 in an unprecedented move by the company's CEO, Akio Toyoda. Everyone thought this was Toyota's awakening moment that would spur fierce competition in the EV segment. The push proved a false alarm, and Toyota's EV push fizzled in the following months, as it pledged to keep the internal combustion engine as its main option. Toyota kept telling everyone about choice and exploring all the possibilities, but nobody bought that: the Japanese carmaker hated entering the EV game late.
Today, we're seeing another aha moment for Toyota, as its new CEO Koji Sato appears to give EV plans a new boost. Could this be the real deal, or is the young tiger still a paper tiger? In the first press conference of his tenure, Sato announced plans to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles in 2023 after launching 10 EV models by then. As reported before, Toyota will develop a new, dedicated EV platform to enable increased efficiency and an improved cost structure.
The new EV platform will not replace the e-TNGA but will complement it. The current architecture will evolve and continue to underpin electric vehicles, most likely for models designed for internal combustion engines and electric powertrains. The new strategy still doesn't mark the dismissal of the combustion engine, as Toyota continues to pursue hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles even as it dials up EV development.
Chief Technology Officer Hiroaki Nakajima, tasked with global product development, explained how Toyota wants to slash production costs. He clearly saw Tesla's "unboxed vehicle" presentation because he announced a "complete transformation" of Toyota's production plants. Nakajima said the new generation of Toyota EVs would be made in a completely different way by leveraging automation, connected technologies, and automated inspections.
One important takeaway from the conference was Toyota's plans to begin local production in the U.S. of a new three-row electric SUV. Executives did not provide further details but said the new model would source Li-Ion batteries from a new plant it plans to build in North Carolina. We learned earlier that Toyota wants to overhaul an existing factory in Kentucky and start with a monthly output of 10,000 EVs. This doesn't sound like the manufacturing revolution promised by Nakajima.
Toyota CFO Yoichi Miyazaki was even more bullish, saying that the Japanese carmaker could reach the 1.5 million EV threshold even earlier, but the battery supply is not yet there. Late last year, Toyota announced plans to triple its investment in the North Carolina battery plant to $3.8 billion from the initial $1.3 billion. The plant is expected to start operations in 2025.
Today, we're seeing another aha moment for Toyota, as its new CEO Koji Sato appears to give EV plans a new boost. Could this be the real deal, or is the young tiger still a paper tiger? In the first press conference of his tenure, Sato announced plans to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles in 2023 after launching 10 EV models by then. As reported before, Toyota will develop a new, dedicated EV platform to enable increased efficiency and an improved cost structure.
The new EV platform will not replace the e-TNGA but will complement it. The current architecture will evolve and continue to underpin electric vehicles, most likely for models designed for internal combustion engines and electric powertrains. The new strategy still doesn't mark the dismissal of the combustion engine, as Toyota continues to pursue hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles even as it dials up EV development.
Chief Technology Officer Hiroaki Nakajima, tasked with global product development, explained how Toyota wants to slash production costs. He clearly saw Tesla's "unboxed vehicle" presentation because he announced a "complete transformation" of Toyota's production plants. Nakajima said the new generation of Toyota EVs would be made in a completely different way by leveraging automation, connected technologies, and automated inspections.
One important takeaway from the conference was Toyota's plans to begin local production in the U.S. of a new three-row electric SUV. Executives did not provide further details but said the new model would source Li-Ion batteries from a new plant it plans to build in North Carolina. We learned earlier that Toyota wants to overhaul an existing factory in Kentucky and start with a monthly output of 10,000 EVs. This doesn't sound like the manufacturing revolution promised by Nakajima.
Toyota CFO Yoichi Miyazaki was even more bullish, saying that the Japanese carmaker could reach the 1.5 million EV threshold even earlier, but the battery supply is not yet there. Late last year, Toyota announced plans to triple its investment in the North Carolina battery plant to $3.8 billion from the initial $1.3 billion. The plant is expected to start operations in 2025.
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