Big News from Toyota
Toyota Motor Corporation, the largest automobile producer in the world, has shifted estimates on future EV production in the last six month. Originally, the auto giant estimated producing 1.5 million EVs per year worldwide. Now it is saying it will make one million EVs per year by 2027 and is upping the number of new models to about 15.
These new models for Europe and American markets will include what has been called the bZ5X three-row electric SUV. Rumor has it that the big SUV being built in Kentucky will be called the Highlander EV (or Highlander Plus). Other new EVs could include the Land Cruiser SE Plus to go head-to-head with the Range Rover EV.
Toyota will also likely roll out all of its electric cars with new solid state battery packs by 2027.The plan is to create a total of about 15 EV models (it has five now, with only one in America – the bZ4X) that will be rolled out to various markets including its dealers in Japan, China, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.
Tariffs and Trade
The reason that Toyota has been building various different models around the globe that are not available in America has to do with tariffs and trade. They have to build the EVs available in the U.S. market at their plants here in the states. These include facilities in Kentucky and Indiana. Batteries will be sourced from a new factory in North Carolina.
New EVs will also be coming from Toyota under the guise of new Lexus EV models and even a new Subaru all-electric Outback, sharing motors and the platform of the upcoming bZ4X Touring model.
Toyota has five EV models currently developed in-house, manufacturing them only in Japan and China. Expanding production to the United States, Thailand and Argentina can help hedge against tariff and foreign exchange risks and cut delivery times. One thing is certain; Toyota is moving fast to adjust to tariffs and stay active while producing a wide range of new electric vehicles all over the planet.
In 2024, the auto company sold almost 140,000 EVs globally, up by about a third from a year earlier. Those EVs accounted for less than two percent of its total global sales of over 10 million vehicles.
