Toyota Motor announced its plans to launch battery electric vehicles (EVs) equipped with advanced batteries worldwide starting in 2026, as reported by Reuters on June 13. These EVs will be developed and manufactured by Toyota’s new EV-focused unit called BEV Factory. In addition, Toyota is actively working on developing a technique for mass-producing solid-state batteries for its EVs, with the goal of commercializing this technology by 2027-2028.

The company aims to achieve a driving range of 1,000 kilometers for its EVs, as stated by Takero Kato, the president of the unit, during a presentation on June 8. To put it into perspective, the long-range version of Tesla’s Model 3 EV has a range of approximately 700 kilometers. Toyota’s objective is to revolutionize the future with BEVs, intending to globally launch the next generation of battery EVs as a full lineup in 2026, according to Kato. The newly established BEV Factory plans to produce around 1.7 million vehicles by 2030. Furthermore, Toyota has set ambitious sales targets for its EVs. The company aims to sell 1.5 million EVs annually by 2026 and hopes that EVs will account for approximately one-third of its global volume, totaling 3.5 million units, by 2030. In April, Toyota achieved a milestone by selling 8,584 EVs worldwide, including its Lexus brand, marking the first time EV sales accounted for over 1% of the company’s global sales in a single month.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-market-next-gen-battery-evs-2026-built-by-new-ev-unit-2023-06-13/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/13/business/corporate-business/toyota-ev-technology-sales-targets/