Toyota falters as Japan’s EV hesitancy claims second victim in China
Japan’s largest automaker, Toyota Motor, is laying off workers in China as the company struggles to keep up in the world’s biggest EV market.
Toyota lays off workers amid China’s EV transition
Japanese automakers are stumbling in China’s evolving auto landscape. According to a new report from Reuters, Toyota’s joint venture with China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) laid off workers this weekend, offering them compensation.
Three workers who were affected said the move comes as the Japanese automaker is struggling in China’s ultra-competitive auto market that’s rapidly transitioning to EVs.
The joint venture’s factory in China employs around 19,000 people, producing models such as Toyota’s first EV, the bZ4X, alongside the Camry and Levin models.
Toyota launched the bZ4X in China in October 2022 with a starting price of 199,800 yuan (around $19,000). However, after several market leaders, including BYD and Tesla, cut prices, Toyota failed to gain traction.
The Japanese automaker sold 3,844 bZ4X models in China through January, representing just 0.26% of China’s EV market.
To boost sales and remain competitive, the automaker slashed prices by 15% in response earlier in February, with a new starting price of around 169,800 yuan ($24,800).
So far, the move has failed to make a difference, with EV sales falling 9% in the first six months of the year.
Despite launching its first electric sedan in China earlier this year, the BYD-powered bZ3 starting at 189,800 yuan ($27,000), Toyota (through FAW-Toyota) is recalling (not OTA) over 12.2K bZ3 electric sedans over defective rear door handles.
After taking over for longtime leader and grandson to the company’s founder (Akio Toyoda) in April, former Lexus branding chief officer Koji Sato said Toyota would need to act urgently to keep up in China’s EV market.
After seeing the impact of EVs at the Shanghai Auto Show, Sato explained:
We need to increase our speed and efforts to firmly meet the customer expectations in the Chinese market.
Meanwhile, Toyota is not the only Japanese automaker suffering in China amid the country’s shift to EVs.
China’s EV market takes a toll on Japanese automakers
According to the China Association of Automobile Association, Japanese automakers’ market share in the region has fallen from 20% last year to 14.9% in the first half of 2023.
Electric vehicle sales in China reached over 2 million through the first five months of the year, up 51.5% YOY as buyers continue adopting EVs at a record pace.
Japanese automakers, who have been arguably the biggest laggards in the EV market, are feeling the pinch the most.
For example, Mitsubishi Motors revealed in a memo last week it was suspending operations in China indefinitely after sales fell drastically. The memo (via Bloomberg) stated:
In the past few months, management and shareholders have tried to the best of our ability, but due to market conditions and with great reluctance and regret, we must seize the opportunity to transition to new energy vehicles. The company will resurrect after going through trials and tribulations.
After peaking at over 134K in 2019, Mitsubishi’s sales have fallen significantly, with only 34.5K vehicles sold in 2022. The decline in sales correlates with China’s booming EV market, fueled by clean energy incentives and other government initiatives.
Nearly all Japanese automakers, including Honda, Mazda, and Nissan, are seeing sales fall in China due to a lack of electric vehicle models to compete with domestic automakers.
Sales of Chinese brands accounted for 53% of the market through the first half of the year as domestic EV makers like BYD, NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng continue to grab market share with unique models in essentially every segment.
Electrek’s Take
Although Electrek has been saying it for years, Japan’s reluctance to produce electric vehicles is already starting to cost them.
China is the world’s leading EV market as the industry continues to adopt electric cars at a record pace.
Last year, a Climate Group report warned Japan could risk a 14% drop in GDP if it failed to boost EV output, and it continues to look more and more apparent that’s the direction we are headed.
Japanese automakers are not the only ones feeling the heat. Volkswagen, which has been a leader in China, saw sales drop 3.6% last year and was surpassed by BYD in passenger car sales for the first half of the year.
In light of this, most automakers mentioned here have recently ramped up EV efforts, including investing in battery tech, dedicated EV platforms, and more efficient models.
Japan is increasing support to advance storage battery tech with over 330 billion yen ($2.3B) in subsidies. Toyota is set to receive nearly 120 billion yen ($847M) of it to fuel its recently revealed EV battery plans.
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Rush Township supervisors in Centre County, Pennsylvania, voted this week to greenlight a key permit for the Black Moshannon Solar project – a large solar development that would turn toxic former mineland into a major source of clean power.
If built, the Pennsylvania solar project would generate 265 megawatts of electricity – enough to power about 200,000 homes annually – on nearly 2,000 acres of toxic mineland. Developers deliberately chose the site, as the project is designed to reclaim land left behind by mining and fold environmental cleanup into the solar buildout.
According to project plans, the site would be restored with pollinators and pollinator-friendly ground cover planted beneath the solar panels. Developers have also committed to ongoing water quality and soil testing during construction and operations, along with soil improvements such as applying lime to help neutralize mining-related contamination and support vegetation growth.
Beyond the environmental cleanup, the project is expected to deliver a financial boost to the region. Black Moshannon Solar is projected to generate more than $5 million in tax revenue for the Phillipsburg-Osceola Area School District, along with more than $700,000 in direct tax payments to Centre County.
Environmental and energy advocates praised the township’s decision. David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, called the vote a model for other communities across the state. “We are hopeful that other local government officials across Pennsylvania will follow Rush Township’s lead and implement similar, much-needed solar projects all across the Keystone State.”
Jim Gregory, executive director of the Conservative Energy Network-Pennsylvania, also applauded the approval. “In 40 years, their forward-thinking decisions will be recognized as catalysts for environmental protection, public health improvements, and economic prosperity.”
Read more: Trump admin OKs $1B loan for Three Mile Island nuclear reboot
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![Genesis GV90 leaks as breathtaking ultra-luxe SUV with coach doors [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Genesis-GV90-leak-coach-doors.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Genesis is gearing up to launch the stunning new flagship SUV. Ahead of its official debut, the GV90 leaked during an internal presentation, revealing our first look at the ultra-luxe electric SUV.
Genesis GV90 leak reveals coach doors and more
The GV90 is arriving as the largest, most luxurious Genesis SUV to date. Based on the Neolun Concept, the new flagship SUV will sit above the GV80 as Genesis expands into new segments.
As Genesis calls it, the “ultra-luxe, state-of-the-art SUV” stole the spotlight at the New York Auto Show last March.
It wasn’t the stunning, reductive design inspired by Korea’s moon-shaped porcelain jars or the premium Royal Indigo and Purple silk materials that caught most people’s attention at the event, but the B-pillarless coach doors.
The SUV was showcased with Rolls-Royce-like coach doors, offering a new level of luxury for Genesis. Although we’ve seen the GV90 spotted out in public testing a few times now with coach doors, we wondered if they would make it to the production model.
After the full-size SUV reportedly leaked during an internal presentation, it looks like we’ve found our answer. The Genesis GV90 leak reveals two versions: a standard model and a coach-door model.
The leaked images from our friends at ShortsCar offer our first look at the production version in full. Earlier this month, a GV90 prototype was spotted out in public with the coach doors wide open, providing a sneak peek of the interior.
From what was shown, the cabin will feature a similar layout to the concept, with high-end purple and indigo materials. The GV90 was also caught with an all-black interior, which is expected to be the standard version.
A new video from the folks over at HealerTV offers a closer look at the breathtaking interior ahead of its official debut.
The GV90 appears to retain the gear selector located near the top of the steering wheel from the Neolun concept.
Another report, from TheKoreanCarBlog, confirms the new gear selector after the first interior spy shots surfaced.
From what we’ve seen so far, the GV90 is shaping up to be a near replica of the ultra-luxe Neolun concept. Genesis has yet to announce a launch date for the GV90, but it is expected to make an official debut by the end of the year with sales starting in mid-2026.
Prices and final specs, like driving range, will be revealed closer to launch, but the Genesis GV90 is rumoured to be the first vehicle to ride on Hyundai’s new eM platform.
Hyundai said the new platform will deliver a 50% improvement in range compared to its current E-GMP-based EVs, such as the IONIQ 5. It’s also expected to offer Level 3 autonomous driving as well as other advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features.
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Turning cheap daytime solar into electricity you can actually use at night just got a lot cheaper. A new analysis from energy think tank Ember shows that utility-scale battery storage costs have fallen to $65 per megawatt-hour (MWh) as of October 2025 in markets outside China and the US. At that level, pairing solar with batteries to deliver power when it’s needed is now economically viable.
Battery storage costs have fallen dramatically over the past two years, and the decline continues. Following a steep decline in 2024, Ember’s analysis indicates that prices continued to fall sharply again in 2025.
The findings are based on real-world data from recent battery and solar-plus-storage auctions in Italy, Saudi Arabia, and India, as well as interviews with active developers across global markets.
According to Ember, the cost of a whole, grid-connected utility-scale battery storage system for long-duration projects (four hours or more) is now about $125 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of October 2025. That figure applies to projects outside China and the US. Core battery equipment delivered from China costs around $75/kWh, while installation and grid connection typically add another $50/kWh.
Those lower upfront costs have pushed down the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) to just $65/MWh. Ember’s calculation reflects real-world assumptions around financing costs, system lifetime, efficiency, and battery degradation.
Cheaper hardware isn’t the only reason storage costs are falling. Longer battery lifetimes, higher efficiencies, and lower financing costs, helped by clearer revenue models such as auctions, have all contributed to the sharp drop in LCOS. Ember has published a live calculator alongside the report, allowing users to estimate LCOS using their own assumptions.
Why this matters comes down to how solar is actually used. Most solar power is generated during the day, so only a portion needs to be stored to make it dispatchable. Ember estimates that if half of daytime solar generation is shifted to nighttime, the $65/MWh storage cost adds about $33/MWh to the cost of solar electricity.
With the global average price of solar at $43/MWh in 2024, adding storage would bring the total cost to about $76/MWh, delivering power in a way that better matches real demand.
As Ember global electricity analyst Kostantsa Rangelova put it, after a 40% drop in battery equipment costs in 2024, the industry is now on track for another major fall in 2025. The economics of battery storage, she said, are “unrecognizable,” and the industry is still adjusting to this new reality.
“Solar is no longer just cheap daytime electricity; now it’s anytime dispatchable electricity. This is a game-changer for countries with fast-growing demand and strong solar resources,” Rangelova added.
Together, solar and battery storage are increasingly emerging as a scalable, secure, and affordable foundation for future power systems.
Read more: EIA: Solar + storage soar as fossil fuels stall through September 2025
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