According to foreign media reports, Ted Ogawa, head of Toyota’s US branch, said that although Toyota still lags behind Tesla in the field of electric vehicles, the company is “catching up” in electric vehicles and new technologies.
Toyota has lagged behind other mainstream automakers in electrification after launching its first all-electric car, the bZ4X, in the United States.
However, since its launch, the electric car has experienced many twists and turns, such as being recalled shortly after its launch, so it has failed to win the favor of consumers.
In 2023, Toyota sold more than 2.
2 million vehicles in the United States, compared with 9329 pure electric vehicles, accounting for less than 0.5%. Toyota’s sales performance of pure electric models has not improved since 2024, with the company selling only 1897 bZ4X vehicles in the United States as of the end of March.
Electric vehicle sales accounted for less than 0.
4 per cent of Toyota’s total US sales of more than 486000 vehicles in the first quarter.
Source: Toyota Ogawa says Toyota is concerned about consumer demand for electric vehicles rather than related regulations.
“however, two years ago, pure electric cars were a missing piece of the puzzle in our business, which is why we were widely criticized,” he explained to the media.
” Ogawa believes that after two years of internal construction, Toyota is “catching up” in electric vehicles and new technology.
He said, for example, that Toyota headquarters is building a “very unique electric car factory.
” The new “pure electric car factory” will adopt many of Toyota’s new technologies.
Last year, the company showed off its next-generation electric vehicle production line, which uses the integrated die-casting process used by Tesla.
Toyota said its “rich knowledge” of moulds would help speed up production.
The company believes it can reduce the preparation time for mold replacement from 24 hours to about 20 minutes.
In addition, other technologies such as self-propelled assembly lines and robots are also expected to improve efficiency while minimizing defects.
Toyota also revealed new battery plans for electric vehicles last summer, including two next-generation batteries to be launched in 2027.
The first “high-performance” battery will have a range of more than 800km and cost 20 per cent less than the battery used by the bZ4X.
In addition, the “popular” version of the battery, to be released between 2026 and 2027, is expected to have a range of more than 600km and reduce costs by 40 per cent.
Between 2027 and 2030, Toyota also plans to introduce a range of more advanced batteries, including solid-state batteries that will have a range of more than 1000 kilometers and support 10-minute fast charging.
According to Ogawa, “this is the beginning of Toyota’s multipath approach, such as the hybrids we already have, plug-in hybrids between hybrid and pure electric, and then pure electric models, and now it’s time for us to introduce pure electric vehicles to the market.
” Ogawa stressed that although Toyota lags behind Tesla in battery technology, the company is catching up.
He said Toyota would not only catch up with competitors in electric vehicles, but “also catch up with ecosystems around pure electric vehicles, such as home charging or energy management”.
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