According to Caijing, Toyota's joint venture in China has plans to introduce plug-in hybrids in the next two to three years, and the technical route is likely to no longer continue Toyota's original model, but may use DM-i technology derived from BYD. According to the report, from the perspective of future product planning, there are about 2-3 models involved, but there is no further news on whether these products can be landed as promised.
Toyota is one of the most nourishing car companies in 2023, and it has delivered an extremely bright report card. According to the financial report, Toyota's sales revenue and net profit in fiscal year 2024 (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024) reached a record 45.1 trillion yen (about 2 trillion yuan) and 4.9 trillion yen (about 230 billion yuan), respectively, a year-on-year increase of 21.4% and 101.7%. According to data released by Toyota, Toyota's global sales in the last fiscal year increased by 5% year-on-year to 11.1 million units, exceeding the 10 million mark for the first time and achieving growth for the third consecutive year.
Seen as a hybrid model on the road to electrification, it is the key to Toyota's success in the European and American markets.
Toyota was born in resource-poor Japan, so the models it produces are not only fuel-efficient, but also the earliest research and development of new energy vehicles, as early as 1997 to the market to launch the Prius model, become the most widely recognized hybrid model of the public, in its birth of more than 20 years in a total of 600,000 units sold, but this car in the Chinese market is an accident, the second and third generation of Prius has been introduced into domestic sales, all ended in failure, the fifth generation of Prius coincided with Tesla's sweep.
In recent years, Toyota has been ridiculed for sticking to the gasoline-electric hybrid and hydrogen energy routes, but in the face of electrification in the global market, Toyota still has to make compromises. At the end of 2021, Toyota announced its electrification strategy, announcing that it would invest $35 billion in the development of electric vehicles. According to the plan, by 2030, Toyota will launch 30 electric vehicles, including pure electric, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel and hybrid vehicles, and is expected to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles per year. At that time, the sales of new energy vehicles will account for 75% of Toyota's total sales. By 2035, Lexus will transform into a pure electric brand.
Later, Toyota launched its first pure electric vehicle, the bZ4X, and introduced it to the Chinese market, which was produced by FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota, respectively. However, the model was frequently shelved before its launch, and sales continued to be sluggish after its launch. Later, FAW Toyota launched the bZ3, a model owned only by FAW Toyota, based on the e-TNGA platform and using BYD's motor and battery.
bZ3 is a tripartite cooperation product, namely Toyota, BYD, FAW Toyota, the battery and motor are provided by BYD's Fodi, in which the battery uses lithium iron phosphate battery, adopts a rear single motor layout, and provides high and low power versions for consumers to choose, respectively, 49.92kWh and 65.28kWh, the corresponding motor power is 135kW and 180kW, and the CLTC range is 517km and 616km respectively.
FAW Toyota bZ3 uses BYD batteries and motors, which is still very emotional, after all, BYD in the early years started by imitating Toyota, and its F3 imitated Toyota Corolla to achieve a certain success, and also became BYD's "hero", and now the two have reached cooperation in vehicle research and development, and it is in the key power system part.
Despite unveiling the most aggressive electric program in history, Toyota is still hesitant and conservative compared to its competitors. On the one hand, Japanese car brands represented by Toyota are vested interests in traditional fuel vehicles, and will not easily give up fuel vehicles, and the comprehensive transformation of electric vehicles means that they will give up core technologies such as engines, gearboxes, and chassis. Previously, Toyota has been the global sales champion for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023.
Unfortunately, whether it is the bZ4X or the bZ3, or other existing gasoline-electric hybrid models, Toyota will have a hard time selling in the Chinese market. As for why Toyota insists on diversified choices, first of all, it is a global model, whether it is product positioning or product type, it is all-round, and it is impossible to bet on electric vehicles. Second, Toyota is very conservative about electric vehicles, and in the words of Akio Toyoda, full electric is not the only way to go forward.
At the recent Beijing Motor Show, Hiroki Nakajima, a director, executive officer, vice president, and chief technology officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, made it clear that Toyota would definitely make PHEVs, and that it would not simply mean "plug-in", but "practical". At the end of this month, Toyota Motor Corporation will hold a "comprehensive electrification technology conference" in Japan. A person familiar with the matter revealed: "At that time, not only will Toyota be introduced how to make efforts in PHEVs, but at the same time, an epoch-making small super engine may be announced." ”