Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will launch ten new battery-powered vehicles and seek to sell 1.5 million E.V.s a year by 2026 to catch up in a sector where it has lagged behind rivals.
Senior officials said Friday that the world’s largest manufacturer by sales would create a new business to focus on next-generation battery E.V.s.
Toyota, including Lexus, has only three battery versions and sold fewer than 25,000 last year.
According to investors and environmental organizations, Toyota has fallen behind Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and rivals in meeting the fast-growing demand for battery-powered cars.
The Japanese manufacturer has replied that E.V.s are simply one alternative for customers and that gasoline-electric hybrids like its pioneering Prius are more viable for particular markets and drivers.
“In the next five years we will increase our line-up in the vital battery electric category,” CEO Koji Sato said at his first briefing, adding that hybrids will remain a key pillar.
By 2030, about half of global car manufacturing will be E.V.s.
Toyota said it would raise manufacturing in the U.S., where E.V. sales are growing faster than the entire market.
First-quarter U.S. sales decreased by almost 9% for Toyota. However, Fleet and commercial E.V. demand boosted General Motors Co (GM.N) by 18%.
In November, S&P Global Mobility found that U.S. consumers switching to electric cars mostly buy Toyota and Honda Motor Co (7267.T).
In an interview before the briefing, Public Citizen clean cars campaigner East Peterson-Trujillo stated, “Now that it is time to make the next great innovation jump, Toyota is lagging behind and more and more citizens in the U.S. are starting to see that.”
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