What Are Toyota’s Plans For Electric Vehicles? (Explained)

When you think about hybrid vehicles, which kind of vehicle pops into your head first? There’s a good chance the Toyota Prius just came to mind — and for good reason. The Toyota Prius has been the best-selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S. since being unveiled in the early 2000s. Toyota clearly hit a home run out of the park with the Prius.

But despite this, Toyota has been slow to come around to creating electric vehicles (EVs). The automaker did announce a $30 billion EV plan back in late 2021, but the company also just revealed they’re already going to be giving that plan a “reboot” of sorts and possibly moving in a different direction.

So, what are Toyota’s plans for EVs now? Find out below so that you can see what Toyota has in store as far as EVs are concerned.

Toyota Is Relaunching Its First Electric SUV

Toyota launched its very first electric SUV, the 2023 Toyota bZ4X, in 2022. That alone should’ve been a cause for celebration for Toyota regarding EVs. But the bZ4X got off to a rocky start, as it was subjected to a recall and a stop-sale almost immediately due to faulty wheel hub bolts. And while it’s back on the market now, Toyota estimates that only 10,000 bZ4Xs will be sold by the time everything is all said and done.

This has been a little bit discouraging for Toyota. But with the early bZ4X issues behind it, Toyota seems to have learned a thing or two from the bZ4X’s launch and will be prepared for the next iteration of it. It also appears that Toyota will proceed with the launch of the Lexus RZ 450e, which is a crossover EV that was designed and built by Toyota.

Toyota Is Studying Its Existing EV Platforms

When Toyota announced that the company would be making a big push to release more EVs in the future, they got a lot of people excited by unveiling 16 prototype EVs to the world. This included everything from an electric pickup mockup to a Compact Cruiser EV mockup. But it sounds like many of these prototypes might never see the light of day.

Toyota has decided to put the development of about 30 EVs on hold for the time being while it looks into its existing EV platforms further. The company is expected to get a report back on these EV platforms sometime this year, and it’ll use that report to decide which EV platforms are worth pursuing and which need to be scrapped. This is a big part of the reason why so much uncertainty exists when it comes to Toyota’s EV plan right now.

Toyota Is Celebrating Its Hybrid Successes

While Toyota’s EV plan has apparently struggled to get off to the strong start that the company was hoping for, Toyota has been quick to point out that it continues to enjoy massive success within the hybrid space. Only 10,000 bZ4Xs have been sold thus far. But the company announced that it sold more than 500,000 hybrids and plug-in hybrids in 2022 alone.

Because of this, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to hear that Toyota isn’t going to abandon its hybrids anytime soon. The Prius, in particular, continues to be a top seller for Toyota, which is why the automaker decided to completely redesign the 2023 Prius so that it could keep on capitalizing on it.

Toyota Is Preparing To Unveil Its New Plan to Suppliers

The good news for those anxiously anticipating the release of more Toyota EVs is that they shouldn’t have to wait too long to see what the company has in store. Toyota is scheduled to hold a so-called supplier summit sometime soon, during which the company will talk to its suppliers about its reworked EV plan. This should provide suppliers and the rest of the world with some insight into where Toyota is going to take things next when it comes to EVs.

The simple fact that Toyota is even holding this supplier summit should demonstrate that the automaker realizes it needs to get more aggressive with manufacturing EVs. It’ll be interesting to see what the company’s spokespeople have to say during this summit. It’s going to paint a much clearer picture of what’s to come for Toyota and its EV plan.

Toyota Is at a Crossroads When It Comes to EVs

For now, Toyota doesn’t seem to have a surefire plan for which EVs it’s going to release or when they’re going to come out. But if nothing else, Toyota appears to be angling to get more EVs out on the road fast. Whether these EVs are the same ones they were working on a couple of years ago or not remains to be seen. But there should be some exciting news on the horizon for those interested in buying Toyota EVs. It’s clear that Toyota isn’t going to let its fellow automakers get a head start on EV production.

Stay Tuned To See Which EVs Toyota Has in Store

Toyota might not have too much to offer yet in terms of EVs. But you can get your hands on plenty of fuel-friendly vehicles, such as the aforementioned Toyota Prius or even the Toyota Mirai, which runs on hydrogen.

You can also keep your eyes peeled for additional news about which EVs Toyota will have in stock soon. It shouldn’t be long before Toyota has EVs listed alongside all the other new vehicles in its lineup.

Would you like to keep tabs on which EVs Toyota has coming soon? Longo Toyota in El Monte, California, will keep you in the loop moving forward. We’ll also help you secure a test drive if you’re interested in any of the other Toyota models that are available now. Contact us to set up a test drive or to ask us any questions you might have about the latest Toyotas.

Tags: Car Tips, Electric Vehicles, EVs, Toyota
Posted in Toyota News | No Comments »