Toyota recently declared plans to design and build EVs with Mazda in the U.S., but it’s huge plans elsewhere, too. The auto manufacturer can produce electric cars in both China and India starting in 2020, it said in a pair of press releases. Up hitherto, Toyota has centered on the element and hybrid vehicles as inexperienced choices, however, it is recent political and environmental developments have forced its hand. China, for one, aims to have 2 million EVs and hybrids on the road by 2019, and India plans to ban gas-powered vehicle sales fully by 2030.
The car manufacturer told it is also working on the plug-in hybrid versions of the corolla and Levin for China and can evaluate the potential of hydrogen fuel cells for buses and other commercial vehicles in China.
Despite pioneering the hybrid with its Prius, Toyota admitted last month that it’s a “little bit late” to the eV party compared to rivals like Nisan. To accelerate its plans in India, it’s joining up with Suzuki, which can build the vehicles while Toyota provides technical support. In China, it’s “considering having our joint-venture partners give us with EVs,” said Toyota’s China chief, Hiroji Onishi. Doing so also will help Toyota qualify for credits in China.
Toyota also has huge plans in the us, because it recently joined up with Mazda to design all-new EVs and build a $1.6 billion assembly plant. the companies can eventually manufacture some 300,000 electric cars per annum while planning to “avoid the commoditization of EVs,” they said in a joint statement.
Toyota has made the Prius since 1997 but has only built 2 pure EVs, the scion IQ minicar and RAV 4 eV. In 2011, Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada famously said that Toyota would not produce a pure electric vehicle “because we don’t believe there’s a market to accept it.” Since then, the most of the major car manufacturer has overhauled their roadmaps to include electric car lineups, thanks to anti-pollution regulations in countries such as France and improving battery technology.
