TOYOTA, swerving from its hybrid and fuel cell strategy revealed its new battery EV (BEV) strategies for the next five years and revealed 16 Toyota and Lexus BEV models that it is readying for market launch and another 14 variants until 2030. It is targeting to sell a total of 3.5 million EVs by 2030. President Akio Toyoda announced this by at a virtual press conference last December 14. In all, the company is going to roll out 30 BEV models.
Toyota’s strategy revolves around carbon reducing vehicles, which are focused on reducing tailpipe emissions from burning fossil fuels to power it. Its carbon neutral vehicles, naturally including fully electric vehicles reduce to almost a nil, carbon emissions. To this end, Toyoda eagerly introduced and announced the availability of the all-new Toyota bZ4X which is co-developed with Subaru.
Though Lexus and Toyota models will share platforms and most technologies, the positioning and features will highly differ. For 2020, During his presentation Akio passionately talked about why and how Toyota has long invested in BEVs and other options for carbon neutrality. Watch the video below to find out more.
Toyota is aiming to invest an additional half a million yen, from 1.5 trillion yen ($13.2 billion) to 2 trillion yen, to further develop what Toyoda said is central in the propagation of electrified vehicles–high performance, advanced, good-quality, affordable batteries.
“Energy plays a critical role in achieving carbon neutrality. At present, the energy situation varies greatly from region to region. That is exactly why Toyota is committed to providing a diversified range of carbon-neutral options to meet whatever might be the needs and situations in every country and region,” Toyoda told the audience that included the global motoring press, and witnessed by technologists, and environmentalists.
After unveiling Toyota’s BZ line up which includes the bZ4x which is made at the company’s Motoyama plant signals the start of the all-electric line-up. The bZ4x is a compact hatchback but the bZ series also includes a sedan (SDN), large and medium SUVs, and a cross over which is built on a single platform. In a video that was also presented, Toyoda test drove the Lexus RZ–its first battery-driven luxury SUV–with much delight. He declared the RZ a “new chapter for the Japanese luxury brand.”
Lexus also aims to sell 100 percent BEVs in Europe and North America by 2030. China which is the world’s biggest market for EVs at present is an immediate target market. It plans to sell 1 million sales by 2030. The BEVs are also going to be sold globally by 2035.
“We at Toyota aim to be a company that contributes to the global environment, seeks to bring happiness to people, acts, and stays close to its customers. To sum it up, we want to become a company that produces happiness for all, for both individuals and society,” Toyoda said.
According to Toyoda, his company has been developing of BEVs for 30 years. The EV Development Department was established in 1992, and the RAV4 EV was introduced to the market in 1996, which was even before the release of the world’s first mass-production Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), the Toyota Prius in 1997. The RAV-4 EV was not sold in huge commercial quantities due to battery and charging issues, though a lot are seen in Japan and other right-hand drive markets where it was exported.
In 2014, it introduced the Mirai, a Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) that run on hydrogen. Toyota and Lexus have launched an impressive line-up of hybrid vehicles including the Corolla, C-HR, Corolla Cross, Camry, RAV4, and Highlander globally while four Lexus Hybrid Electric models — ESh, RXh, LSh, UXh were also created. Not all these vehicles are available in the Philippines.
“We want to pass on an ever-better future for the children of today and those who will come after them. We always want the future to be brighter,” Toyoda concluded.
