Despite a report suggesting that EVs could find themselves in a targeted position alongside their ICE vehicle peers on environmental grounds, Toyota will speed up the development of electric vehicles, the automaker’s incoming president and chief executive Koji Sato said.
The largest automaker in the world stated that electrification would be one of three pillars for Toyota’s transformation into a “mobility company,” along with intelligence and diversification, in an announcement of new executive roles as of April 1.
Toyota has come under fire for its BEV adoption pace. In recent years, the automaker has put more of an emphasis on hybrid vehicles.
“We have been working to develop BEVs that are exclusive to Toyota and Lexus. We have seen the BEVs we are aiming for through these efforts,” Sato said at a news conference.
“Company will accelerate the development of BEVs with a new strategy now that the time is right.”
According to the executive, Toyota will aim to expand its current BEV lineup while developing the next generation of BEVs for the Lexus brand by 2026, with everything from the battery and platform to how a car is built optimised for BEVs.
Demand for battery metals, especially lithium, will require significant increases in mining, and “Large-scale mining entails social and environmental harm, in many cases irreversibly damaging landscapes without the consent of affected communities,” the study says.
