Toyota on Friday announced plans to significantly increase the electric range of future plug-in hybrids, develop next-generation electric vehicles with twice the range, and expand sales of hybrid vehicles. to emerging markets.
In an update on the company’s direction, Toyota’s executive vice president of product, Hiroki Nakajima, said that plug-in hybrids are “a practical electric vehicle” and that the company plans to expand its driving range. vehicle in EV mode of PHEV out 200 km (124 miles).
No timeline for this has been announced, but the next generation of plug-in hybrids could still be several years away. Toyota this week launched the 2023 Prius Prime in the US, with a 44-mile electric range still lower than the whole of California expected. 50 mile range for PHEV—and GM Chevy Voltdiscontinued four years ago.
Toyota Prius Prime 2023
This announcement marks a change for Toyota in the way it aims to package plug-in hybrid models. Even in 2021, it maintains that 40 miles is a must for PHEV to meet daily driving needs even in inclement weather. In addition, it adds weight, costs, and is detrimental to efficiency.
Toyota also confirmed its plan to ramp up production of electric vehicles to 1.5 million electric vehicles annually—globally—by 2026, a significant acceleration from previous plans. And it says it will release a new generation of electric vehicles in 2026 that “will double the driving range by using batteries with much greater efficiency,” according to Nakajima.
Expected line of electric vehicles Toyota
In the US, Toyota will produce a three-row SUV by 2025, with batteries supplied from North Carolina, the company confirmed. It’s unclear if that vehicle or any of these upcoming vehicles will follow the design revealed in concept form in 2021, as Toyota confirms. 30 EVs by 2030globally.
The company promises to transform production, with the number of processes halved, test autonomous vehicles and driverless transportation with connected technology. It has created a specialized unit to handle this change, it said.
Toyota aims to cut the average CO2 emissions of vehicles sold worldwide by 33% by 2030 and by more than 50% by 2035, compared to 2019.
Preview Toyota RAV4 Prime 2024
As Toyota went on to argue, it could make a bigger difference in global emissions, given the battery constraints, to use more of that battery capacity for a hybrid vehicle than an EV.
It may actually be financially advantageous for Toyota to replace non-hybrid vehicles in some markets with hybrid vehicles. According to Yoichi Miyazaki, executive vice president in charge of manufacturing, the cost of the company’s hybrid systems has been reduced to one-sixth of the initial cost, achieving profitability compared to other gasoline-powered vehicles.
“In short, for growth in emerging markets, profitable hybrids will be used as a source of income,” said Miyazaki.
In parts of the world that don’t yet have a developed charging infrastructure, that could give the company an advantage and further confirm the other trajectory towards vehicle electrification that the company has been pursuing. .
