While the major manufacturers will attack the second generation of battery electric cars (BEVs) in 2026, Toyota will probably still only be with the first, except perhaps for Lexus.
Toyota held a press conference on Monday, February 13, 2023 to present several changes in its management organization. It must be said that the Japanese group announced, at the end of January, a major change at its head: Akio Toyoda, the current president of the group, will be replaced on April 1 by Koji Sato. Akio Toyoda has always been very critical of all-electric, and has never been very inclined to jump into the race for battery-powered electric vehicles, even preferring the hydrogen solution.
Faced with criticism of Toyota’s slowness with electric cars, Koji Sato justified the situation by communication problems around the brand’s strategy: “If we have been slow in our battery EV projects, I think about half of that delay is due to a communication problem “. Presented this way, one might have the impression that Koji Sato’s answer is a bit like a new variant of the excuse: “the dog ate my homework”.
Toyota continues the electric strategy announced in 2021
The future new president has indicated that there will not really be any major upheaval in the strategy already established, even if some adjustments will be made to the priorities to be given. The Toyota group should hold a more detailed press conference on this subject in April 2023.
In December 2021, the group announced more than 30 electric cars by 2030. A change of gear that had surprised, but which now needs to be implemented. The group is still betting on a target of 3.5 million battery electric cars sold by 2030.
” The time has come ”
Koji Sato nevertheless specifies: “ We have been preparing for years to manufacture 100% electric vehicles running on batteries for Toyota and Lexus. The manufacturer wants to remain the best car manufacturer, it wants to offer cars that are fun to drive and that make customers happy. The brand’s engineers are working in this direction to offer electric vehicles that will appeal to the public. However, we regret that the brand has not developed some of its past concepts:
There is also no question of turning our backs on hybrid vehicles: ” we want to listen to customers around the world and offer them various options “. Toyota wants to remain multi-energy, of course maintaining developments on hybrid engines, without forgetting its work on fuel cell electric vehicles (or hydrogen vehicles).
Lexus will power the next generation of EVs in 2026
The group’s high-end brand will be the locomotive for the changes to come. Lexus models should even benefit new technologies from 2026: new battery, new platform, new way of producing the car. This will be the first step in expanding the range of electric vehicles. Toyota must find the solution to overcome a manufacturing process that is too slow and expensive for electric vehicles.
2026 should therefore sign the second generation of electric cars (BEV) from the Toyota group, but can we really say that a first generation is already underway? The models currently developed on the new e-TNGA platform face many problems, for which it is difficult to have real visibility on the situation.
The Toyota BZ4x, which we tested in July 2022, was expected by the first customers in France last September. At the end of January 2023, no model has been delivered. On the American market, where the first deliveries have already taken place since mid-2022, several major safety recalls and other teething problems have damaged the Japanese manufacturer’s image of excellence. We may understand better why the model is not offered for purchase, but only for rental.
As we prepare to test drive the Lexus RZ450e in the coming weeks, we wonder if it will suffer the same fate. He, too, has already accumulated several months behind the initial schedule.
According to Electrek, Toyota does not seem to really want to develop its production of electric cars before 2025. We are therefore not talking about a few months delay, but a few years. One wonders if Toyota is simply not missing the train of the electric car, like almost all Japanese manufacturers, with the exception of Nissan. It seems unlikely that Toyota will achieve the objective set, by not really starting on the subject until 2025. This would be annoyingly regrettable for this brand which has so much merit.
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