Shocking U-Turn: Toyota Slashes Electric Vehicle Production by 1/3 – Is the EV Boom Losing Steam
Toyota Cuts Electric Vehicle Production Plans for 2026
Toyota Motor, a Japanese car company, has reduced its electric vehicle production plans for 2026 by a third, according to the Nikkei business newspaper. This move makes Toyota the latest car company to reassess its electric vehicle plans amid weak EV sales.
The world’s largest carmaker now aims to produce just 1 million electric vehicles by 2026, down from its initial target of 1.5 million vehicles. Although Toyota stated that its ambition to produce 1.5 million electric vehicles a year by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030 remains unchanged, it clarified that this figure is not a target, but rather a standard criterion for all shareholders.
Producing 1 million electric vehicles per year would still be a significant step forward for Toyota, which has primarily focused on developing hybrid vehicles until now. Last year, the company sold around 104,000 electric vehicles, accounting for only about 1% of its total car sales worldwide.
Toyota’s decision follows a similar move by Swedish carmaker Volvo, which recently abandoned its goal of producing only electric cars by 2023. Volvo now expects to continue producing some hybrid vehicles during that time.
In the United States, automakers such as Ford and General Motors have also delayed and canceled new electric cars to avoid investing heavily in vehicles that consumers are not buying as quickly as expected.
Source: Reuters