- Toyota will have four new electric vehicle models on sale in the US by 2027
- The company has already spoken openly on the topic of pure electric vehicles.
- Toyota’s North American VP wants a “fair share” of the US EV market
Toyota just revealed plans for four new purely electric cars, and they’re part of an American push that’s something of a gear shift from the auto giant’s previous comments about electric vehicles.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda has spoken in the past about battery electric vehicles. He already stated in 2024 that the electric car segment will only represent a maximum of 30% of the market, and added that he thought that “customers, not regulations or politics” should make the decision about which path to trust, according to a Forbes report at the time.
As a result, the company continued to offer a multi-pronged strategy to reduce its overall emissions that included a strong focus on plug-in hybrid vehicles, self-charging hybrids and even hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Up to this point, it has been relatively slow to offer a range that includes multiple pure battery electric options, with the bZ4x and a handful of battery-powered commercial vehicles flying the flag for battery packs and electric motors.
However, the Japanese company just revealed plans for several new purely electric models that it hopes will help it gain a competitive advantage in the United States, where the current government is creating an increasingly uncertain market by eliminating tax credits and even reversing historic decisions on greenhouse gases.
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These four dedicated battery electric vehicles will join a broader range of EV and plug-in hybrid options ranging from minivans and pickup trucks to popular crossovers and SUVs.
David Christ, vice president of Toyota Motor North America, told Automotive News that the company recognizes that sales are down after “federal incentives went away.” But the company feels it deserves a fair share of the EV market out there. “These four cars will help us achieve it,” Cristo said.
Too late for Toyota?
This new approach from Toyota is not only aimed at making a splash in the US market, where the new bZ was among the best-selling electric vehicles in the United States last month, surpassing the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV9 and Honda Prologue, according to Electrek.
Europe has also seen the arrival of a host of new electric models, including the new Urban Cruiser compact SUV, which starts at just £28,495 (around $39,000 / AU$55,000), as well as the aforementioned C-HR+ and the updated bZ4x. There are also a handful of commercial vehicles and a version of the bZ Woodland model, which in the UK is called the bZ4x Touring.
This new commitment to electric vehicles may not bring headline-grabbing range figures or ultra-fast charging speeds, but it does add Toyota’s long-standing reputation for quality and reliability to the broader electric vehicle market.
It also comes at a time when new Chinese brands are seemingly appearing online every month. For those unwilling to take risks with a newcomer, Toyota represents a safe pair of hands.
This, and the highly competitive pricing, might well make Akio Toyoda’s comments look a little silly, especially considering that some European countries have already witnessed electric vehicles taking up well over 30% of the overall market, and Norway is on track to achieve 100% zero-emission new car sales in the coming years.
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