Different way of thinking
Toyota and electric cars; it is now a somewhat awkward relationship. That must change under the leadership of the new CEO. He puts electric driving high on the list of priorities.
While Toyota was a real pioneer with hybrid driving, it is a bit hesitant when it comes to electric driving. Toyota is now also starting to release electric models into the world and here in the Netherlands, the Toyota bZ4X is the first of several purely electric or also electric models. By ‘also electric’ we mean cars that have been developed with the fuel engine as a starting point, but can also have an electric powertrain. Toyota announced at the end of 2021 that it was working on a platform for the European market that would allow this. The new Toyota C-HR looks set to be the first to come on the market with both petrol engines and fully electric.
There is certainly a few things in the pipeline, but the focus must be even more firmly on electric driving. At least that is what Koji Sato, the upcoming CEO of Toyota, says. Sato, who will take over from Akio Toyoda on April 1, has already announced that under his leadership Toyota will step up the development of electric cars. Electrification is his number one priority. “Now is the time to accelerate the development of BEVs in a different way.”
Lexus will take the lead and from 2026 the first electric cars of the next generation will appear at Toyota’s luxury brand. They were “developed from the ground up as BEVs,” says Sato. Toyota’s future CEO speaks of a ‘BEV-first mindsetto provide customers with electric cars that meet their needs. Sato does emphasize the importance of continuing to focus on different forms of propulsion, because “the energy situation worldwide is not the same and Toyota wants to have the right options worldwide.”
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl