Toyota’s new CEO adjusts EV plans but sticks to a hybrid approach
Toyota’s newly elected CEO, Koji Sato, is tasked with pulling the automaker out of the past and into the modern era. After announcing plans to introduce 10 new EV models on Friday with 1.5 million in electric vehicle sales by 2026, is the automaker doing enough?
After selling more than 10.5 million vehicles last year, Toyota maintained its position as the world’s largest automaker over Volkswagen for the third straight year.
Toyota is known for being a pioneer in hybrid technology with more than 20 years of experience since releasing the first Prius, but the automaker has struggled in shifting to fully electric, zero-emission vehicles.
Akio Toyoda, the 66-year-old grandson of the company’s founder, who was one of the most outspoken critics of going all in on EVs, announced he would step down from his position in January “to advance change at Toyota.”
The automakers underwhelming efforts toward zero-emissions EVs have resulted in one of the least developed supply chains for reducing emissions, making it the target of climate activists globally.
Toyoda has been replaced by former Lexus chief branding officer Koji Sato. With newly elected leader Sato at the helm, many believed the company could and should take a new direction before it was too late.
In February, Sato revealed he would boost Toyota’s EV efforts with plans to implement a new business structure and strategy when he took over beginning this month, claiming, “Now that the time is right, we will accelerate BEV development with a new approach.”
Toyota plans 10 new EV models, 1.5 million sales by 2026
In a press release Friday, Sato revealed his vision and the new structure he aims to create for the future of Toyota.
Sato said, “We want to protect the beautiful Earth and enrich the lives of people around the world,” continuing to explain:
For the car to continue being a necessary part of society, we need to change the future of the car.
For that to happen, Toyota says it is committed to achieving carbon neutrality over the entire cycle of its vehicles, but by… 2050.
As intermittent targets, Toyota aims to reduce CO2 emissions for the vehicles it sells globally by 33% by 2030 and over 50% by 2035, with 2019 as a base.
Sato says the first thing the automaker will do is “implement electrification,” which it has the ability to do so now.
Hiroki Nakajima, executive vice president at Toyota, explained the company’s new electrification strategy, including 10 new battery electric vehicles by 2026, representing 1.5 million EV sales annually.
Toyota also hinted that a new EV platform may be in the works, after claiming its new generation of BEVs – “entirely different from those today” – will double its driving range.
To drive down costs, the Japanese automaker is taking another page from Tesla’s playbook by focusing on manufacturing efficiency with autonomous processes.
Meanwhile, Toyota is sticking to its “multi-pathway approach” including hybrids and fuel cell vehicles.
Toyota said it will increase battery efficiency in its plug-in hybrids to extend EV driving range beyond 124 miles (200 km). As for fuel cell vehicles, Toyota is pursuing mass production with a focus on commercial vehicles.
Electrek’s Take
Although 1.5 million EV sales may seem like a lot, when considering Toyota sold over 10.5 million vehicles last year, it would still represent less than 15% of total sales.
In comparison, Tesla sold 1.3 million fully electric cars last year with another record 422,875 vehicles delivered in the first quarter alone.
While many automakers are already achieving double-digit EV sales, or even 100%, Toyota is sticking to a modest goal yet again despite claims of going “Beyond Zero” with its bZ campaign.
Volvo, Mercedes, Jaguar, Cadillac, Rolls Royce, Alfa Romeo, and more have committed to going all-electric by 2030. Even Ford, GM, and Stellantis are targeting 50% fully electric sales by 2030.
Despite an open letter calling for Sato to change the direction (including phasing out hybrids and plug-in hybrids) of Toyota from 54 consumer and environmental groups last month, the leader has spoken.
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Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.
That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.
Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.
The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:
- Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
- Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
- Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree
Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.
“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”
It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.
That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.
Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”
Read more: Walmart and Nexamp are rolling out 31 solar farms in 5 states
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When Genesis first previewed its full-size electric SUV, the coach doors were one of the biggest highlights. It looks like it will actually make its way into the production vehicle. A Genesis GV90 model was spotted in the US for the first time with coach doors, offering a glimpse of the upcoming ultra-luxury SUV.
Genesis GV90 spotted with coach doors in California
We got our first look at the full-size luxury SUV after Genesis unveiled the Neolun concept at the NY Auto Show last March.
Genesis said the concept was its “ultra-luxe vision of luxury SUVs,” and it wasn’t kidding. When it arrives, it will be sold as the GV90 as the brand’s new flagship vehicle.
The GV90 is not just a pretty-looking luxury SUV. It’s also loaded with Hyundai’s most advanced software and tech. According to Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis’ head of creative design, “it’s the epitome of timeless design and sophisticated craftsmanship.
Last month, we got a sneak peek of the interior after a production-ready GV90 was caught in California. Although somewhat toned down from the original concept, the cabin still featured many of the same elements.
Another Genesis GV90 was recently spotted in California, with actual coach doors. The new images from KindelAuto (via TheKoreanCarBlog) show a camouflaged vehicle with a hinge at the rear, where the coach doors will open.
Genesis said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles, like the GV90. However, don’t expect it to come standard on all models.
The feature will likely be reserved for higher-priced trims. We’ve seen other variants, featuring traditional doors, that are being tested in the US and Korea.
Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. We will learn prices and final specs closer to launch, but the flagship electric SUV is set to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform.
Hyundai said the platform is designed for EVs across all segments and will “provide a 50 percent improvement in driving range” compared to current EVs. It will also support Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities and OTA software updates.
Source: KindelAuto, TheKoreanCarBlog
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Elon Musk has finally confirmed that Tesla’s new ‘affordable’ electric car is just going to be the Model Y in a cheaper format.
Musk has ended months of speculations and misinformation, which he partly created, about Tesla’s upcoming cheaper electric vehicle model.
Since last year, Tesla has guided “launching new affordable models” in the first half of 2025.
We are past the first half of 2025, but Tesla confirmed yesterday that the “first build” of the new model was produced in June, and it will launch later this year.
During the shareholders’ call following the earnings results yesterday, Tesla was asked about what the new affordable model would look like. Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, initially stated that they wouldn’t disclose details about the design, but then Musk interrupted him and said, “It’s a Model Y.”
It’s hard to hear exactly on the call because he talked over Taneja, but he said, “the cat is out of the bag” and confirmed that the new vehicle is simply a Model Y.
Electrek has been reporting on this fact all year. We have known for months that Tesla’s upcoming “new affordable models” are Model 3 and Model Y with a stripped-down interior with fewer features, like no rear screen, and cheaper materials:
However, this fact was not accepted in the Tesla community because CEO Elon Musk falsely denied a report last year about Tesla’s “$25,000” EV model being canceled.
The facts are that Musk canceled two cheaper vehicles that Tesla was working on, commonly referred as “the $25,000 Tesla” in early 2024. Those vehicles were codenamed NV91 and NV92, and they were based on the new vehicle platform that Tesla is now reserving for the Cybercab.
Instead, Musk noticed that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y production lines were starting to be underutilized as the Company faced demand issues. Therefore, Tesla canceled the vehicle programs based on the new platform and decided to build new vehicles on Model 3/Y platform using the same production lines.
Now, only the new Cybercab is going to be based on the new unboxed platform.
During the conference call last night, Musk stated that the primary goal of the more affordable Model Y is to expand the market by making the vehicle more accessible to a broader audience. He suggested that it will go on sale in Q4.
Electrek’s Take
Finally, we can put this to rest. I think we can expect something similar to what Tesla did with the Model 3 in Mexico.
I think we can expect changes, such as using cloth materials instead of vegan leather, no rear display, no ambient lighting, and a lesser audio system.
In the case of the Model Y, Tesla may consider dropping some exterior lighting features, such as the light bars.
I wouldn’t be surprised also to see some powertrain changes. Maybe a less powerful RWD motor.
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