【EV Vision Report】When the global car giants are focusing on the layout of the future electric vehicle layout, people think that Toyota Motor is still holding on to the existing hybrid and fuel cell technology hesitantly, but today, Toyota President Akio Toyoda brought a total of 16 electric vehicle lineups of Toyota and Lexus brands at the global network live broadcast conference, declaring that it will enter this blue ocean in a big way.
Akio Toyoda has set a strategic goal of investing in the development of 30 pure electric models by 2030 and investing 8 trillion yen ($70 billion) to develop full-product electric vehicles, emphasizing that Toyota is a full-line manufacturer of "carbon-neutral vehicles", vowing to sell 3.5 million vehicles a year by 2030 and up to 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) in the field of battery technology to cope with the increasingly large electrified vehicle market.
Akio Toyoda has also announced that by 2035, its luxury car brand Lexus will all be converted to electric vehicles worldwide. Lexus plans to make pure electric vehicles account for 100% of total sales in Europe, North America and China by 2030.
In addition to pure electric vehicle models, Toyota will continue to provide a full range of products such as hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV). Akio Toyoda said that the model and timing of model investment are determined according to the energy policies and industrial policies of each country, and Toyota will provide a "full product line" choice to achieve carbon neutrality according to the needs of each country or region.
Akio Toyoda mentioned that Toyota became the first brand in the world to mass-produce and sell hybrid vehicles through Prius as early as 1997, but Toyota's pure electric vehicle development actually came earlier than hybrid. Toyota established the Electric Vehicle Development Division as early as 1992 and developed the first RAV4 EV in 1996. In the following 30 years, the e-com prototype, the ultra-small EV "COMS" and the small EV "eQ" have been successively displayed, and this year the C+pod and C+walk have been launched, and more diversified pure electric vehicle products have been developed to provide consumers with more diversified mobile methods.
Since 1996, Toyota has invested a total of 4.5 trillion yen (US$39.5 billion) in the past 26 years to develop electrified models across the entire range of vehicles, and the accumulated experience is a good cornerstone for its future development of electric vehicles.
By 2030, in addition to investing another 4 trillion yen ($35 billion) in the development of pure electric vehicles, Toyota will also invest another 4 trillion yen ($35 billion) to continue to develop electrified models such as hybrid, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cells, with an overall investment scale of 8 trillion yen ($70 billion).
Akio Toyoda said that for Toyota, developing a battery that users can use with peace of mind is a top priority. Toyota has been involved in battery development since 1939, and over the years has focused on developing safe, long-lasting, high-quality, low-cost, and high-performance batteries. By integrating automotive and battery development, the company aims to reduce battery costs by at least 50 percent by 2030, and at the same time, the annual battery production capacity target will be increased from the previous 200 GWh to 280 GWh, and the overall investment in battery systems will be increased from 1.5 trillion yen (US$13 billion) announced in September to 2 trillion yen (US$17.5 billion).
In addition, in order to cope with the competition in the electric vehicle market, battery procurement will also become a major issue in the future. Through Toyota's group procurement system, Toyota can now ensure battery supply by 2025. Through the integration of development and supply systems, toyota's competitiveness in the pure electric vehicle market will be strengthened.
The 16 pure electric models displayed at the announcement site today are expected to be listed before 2025-2026, including 5 Toyota's bZ series models, 4 Lexus pure electric models and 7 Lifestyle pure electric models. Akio Toyoda was the first to mention that the recently officially released Toyota bZ4x pure electric SUV, which is the first chapter of the new generation of Toyota electric vehicles, is also a very important global strategic model.
A series of bZ families that debuted next to the bZ4x, including bZ compact SUVs, bZ compact SUVs, bZ sedans, and bZ large 7-seater SUVs, will be available in the coming years.
As for the Lexus lineup in the middle row, in addition to the RZ luxury medium-sized electric SUV that was previously announced to be unveiled, the prototype of the large electric SUV expected to be launched in the future on the left is the new electric sports car located in the center and defined as the LFA supercar successor, which is advertised as having an endurance of 700 kilometers under the sci-fi shape, and has the strength to complete 0-100km/h acceleration in 2 seconds.
The last show is the products expected to be developed in Toyota's mid-term electric vehicle plan, including electric off-road pickup trucks, Com plug-in hybrid act Cruiser EV electric off-road vehicles, electric sports cars, and even electric minibuses.
The huge product lineup allows us to see Toyota's ambition for the pure electric vehicle market and show the world the strength of the world's leading car companies in the field of pure electric vehicles.
Pure electric vehicles are not currently zero carbon emissions, and to achieve carbon neutrality, they must be "adapted to local conditions" according to energy conditions. Akio Toyoda said: Energy is the key to achieving carbon neutrality. Electricity is the main energy source of pure electric vehicles, so the amount of carbon emissions of pure electric vehicles will depend on the source of power generation (thermal /nuclear energy / renewable energy), according to the degree of national development, there is also a gap in energy structure, energy storage infrastructure, the higher the proportion of thermal power generation, the higher the proportion of coal-fired power generation, the higher the carbon emissions of the country, not all regions can be as suitable as a few advanced countries to promote the popularity of pure electric vehicles in a short period of time.
Taking Norway in Northern Europe as an example, 99.1% of electricity comes from low-carbon energy sources and hydropower is the mainstay, and pure electric vehicles are very effective carbon reduction tools. However, in the case of Japan, due to the high proportion of thermal power generation (75%), hybrid and plug-in hybrid models should be used as the main means of carbon reduction. Priority should be given to promoting the popularization of hybrid and plug-in hybrids in order to effectively achieve carbon reduction targets.
Due to the different energy conditions in each region, the use and needs of users' cars are also different. In this context, Toyota is committed to developing a "full line" of carbon-neutral vehicles, whether hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure electric or hydrogen fuel cells, to provide different options for users around the world.
In addition to the aforementioned electrified models, Toyota will continue to explore the possibilities of new energy applications with the help of motorsport, such as the development of hydrogen engines, the development and promotion of clean fuels that do not emit carbon dioxide, and find solutions to carbon emissions.
Under the global electrification strategy, there will be more pure electric vehicle models in the near future, and it is believed that in the pure electric vehicle battlefield, Toyota will soon be pressed.