Toyota targets 1.5 million electric vehicle sales in 2026

After years of maintaining that electric vehicles could not be its sole priority, Toyota has reassessed and accelerated its electrification plans. EVs are now set to become one of the Japanese brand’s key pillars over the coming years.

This shift in approach came alongside the appointment of Koji Sato as Toyota’s new chief executive, replacing Akio Toyoda, who moved into the role of chairman.

In his first speech following the appointment, Sato pledged that electric vehicles would carry far greater importance within Toyota from now on. Any remaining uncertainty was removed at his first official press conference after taking office.

“Today’s automotive industry is a matter of survival and is highly competitive,” Sato said, as quoted by Automotive News Europe, before setting out a new and ambitious target: to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles in 2026.

Boosting electric car sales will be Sato’s foremost priority, as he stressed during the conference. However, reaching 1.5 million EV sales will not be straightforward: Toyota sold only around 25,000 electric vehicles worldwide in 2022.

Ten new electric vehicles on the way

Toyota currently has just one fully electric model in its line-up, the bZ4X. Looking at the Toyota Group as a whole also brings Lexus into consideration, with two EVs in its range: the UX 300e and RZ 450e.

That position is due to change over the next few years, as the Japanese giant prepares to introduce 10 new fully electric models across Toyota and Lexus within the next three years.

Some will use an evolved version of the existing e-TNGA platform, while others will be based on an entirely new, purpose-built electric architecture. This will help the company meet the target set by Sato for 2026.

There is no question that this is an extremely ambitious plan. Yet, according to Yoichi Miyazaki, Toyota’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, battery supply is the only factor that could constrain the target.

“Regarding the production of 1.5 million [electric vehicles], if there are no batteries, we cannot produce them. Therefore, batteries will determine the pace,” Miyazaki said. He added that Toyota’s EV strategy will be tailored to different markets and that, in the future, the company could even establish production facilities dedicated solely to electric cars.

Addressing Toyota’s possible delay compared with its leading competitors in electric vehicles, notably Tesla and the Volkswagen Group, Miyazaki was equally clear:

“It may seem that we arrived late, but for us it was simply a matter of the most appropriate timing.”

• Yoichi Miyazaki, Toyota executive vice-president and chief financial officer

Lexus will lead the electric vehicle offensive

Beyond the medium-term target for 2026, Toyota has already mapped out its plans for the years ahead. At the end of 2021, Akio Toyoda announced a goal of selling 3.5 million electric vehicles annually and achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.

Those plans remain in place, but they have been strengthened and accelerated since Sato took the helm. In addition to the 10 new EVs due by 2026, Toyota is preparing 30 new electric vehicles for launch by the end of the decade.

This substantial electric vehicle push will be led by Lexus, which aims to become a global brand selling only electric vehicles by 2035. Before then, it must be selling one million EVs a year by 2030.

Tesla in Toyota’s sights

To put that figure into perspective, Tesla was the brand that sold the most electric vehicles globally in 2022: 1 314 330 million, according to CleanTechnica data.

Chinese giant BYD ranked second, having ended the year with 913 052 electric cars sold. SAIC completed the top three, with 671 725 EVs sold in 2022.

The Top 5 also included the Volkswagen Group, with 571 067 electric vehicles sold last year, and Geely, Volvo’s owner, with 383 936.

Sources: Automotive News Europe and CleanTechnica