Toyota recently unveiled its new state-of-the-art electric vehicle assembly line in Japan, capable of significantly reducing the number of operations and parts required.
This manufacturing modernization, which is of course part of a strategy to catch up in the electric market and which is inspired by what Tesla and Chinese manufacturers like BYD are doing, will allow the Japanese giant to increase significantly increase its production capacity in the years to come.
Daily life Nikkei also reports that Toyota has informed its main suppliers of a new target to achieve, namely manufacturing 600,000 electric vehicles in 2025. This would be more than triple its objective for 2024, which amounts to 190,000 units.
Photo: Toyota
Recall that Toyota sold just under 25,000 electric vehicles globally last year – a quarter of 1% of the market or a drop in the ocean, so to speak. However, this does not prevent it from targeting 150,000 sales for this year as a whole.
In North America, the manufacturer only offers two battery models, the Toyota bZ4X and the Lexus RZ. Another, the Mirai, works more with a fuel cell and its distribution remains extremely limited.
Photo: Guillaume Rivard
The current e-TNGA platform will soon be modernized and a completely new platform will also be launched. With these, Toyota will launch 10 new electric models in the next three years.
As we’ve already talked about, one of them will be a three-row SUV that will compete with the Kia EV9, among others. By banking on batteries that will come from a new factory in North Carolina (opening in 2025), this vehicle will be built in the United States, probably in Kentucky.
From 2026, Toyota plans to sell 1.5 million units annually. This number will subsequently increase to 3.5 million around 2030, in other words a third of its total volume. The Lexus brand will go 100% electric at the same time, in case you forgot.