In a major strategic shift, Toyota is looking at a dedicated EV platform similar to what other automakers have to more effectively compete with Tesla. newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported this week.
However, Toyota does not plan to roll out the platform until 2027 or 2028, when it believes consumer demand for electric vehicles will be enough to warrant the investment, the report said. That means it will be a full vehicle cycle before anything comes out on this new platform, and until then Toyota may not be able to compete with cost-effective models. such production, scope or efficiency.
2023 Toyota bZ4X Limited AWD
The report essentially comes on the same day that CEO Akio Toyoda announced his transition to president after 14 years in the CEO role, with Koji Sato being appointed as the company’s next CEO. Toyota.
Under Toyoda, the automaker has taken a somewhat conservative approach to electric vehicles, with the man himself saying the U.S. goal is to 50% of EV sales by 2030 would be “very difficult” to achieve. The automaker has just launched twins Toyota bZ4X and Lexus RZ, and even these models use a platform that shares some techniques with internal combustion vehicles.
Lexus RX 2023
In contrast, the new platform is said to have a really clean design, similar to Hyundai’s E-GMP platform or BMW’s upcoming Neue Klasse platform. Toyota reports Pause development on electric vehicles in the future in October, so maybe for this reason, they’re built on that foundation instead.
For now, Toyota in the US has noted that while Lexus will prioritize performance and range, Toyota will look for affordability in its EV. At the most recent update, Toyota said that 85% of sales in the US there will still be exhaust pipes in 2030. Today California has surpassed that. In that state, electric vehicles account for 16% of new car sales in 2022.
