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Despite a slow start, Toyota plans to accelerate electric vehicle output over the next several years. The Japanese automaker aims to triple EV production of Toyota and Lexus brand models in 2025 as mass production begins.

Toyota to triple EV production in 2025

According to a new report from Nikkei, Toyota is now aiming to produce 600,000 electric cars in 2025, tripling the expected 2024 output of 190,000 units.

Toyota intends to sell 1.5 million EVs by 2026 with ten new all-electric models, including SUVs, crossovers, small cars, luxury, and commercial. By 2030, the automaker plans to sell 3.5 million EVs or about one-third of its global volume.

The report notes Toyota has already notified several of its major suppliers of its planned EV production ramp over the next few years.

Last year, Toyota and Lexus sold a total of 24,466 fully electric cars, representing just 0.26% of overall sales.

The trend has continued this year with a little over 7,400 units sold through the first seven months of 2023, still less than 1% of overall sales. In the US, Lexus has sold 2,068 units of its first EV, the RZ electric SUV. Meanwhile, through the first half of the year, Toyota sold 3,659 units of its sole electric car, the bZ4X.

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Toyota bZ4X (Source: Toyota)

Stepping up in the EV era

Over the past several weeks, Toyota has revealed a few new technologies and other innovations designed to help it compete with EV leaders like Tesla and BYD.

At a technical workshop in June, we got a glimpse of Toyota’s next-gen EV batteries, design improvements, and manufacturing upgrades to cut costs and boost efficiency.

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Toyota three-row electric SUV concept (Source: Toyota)

More recently, the company revealed its next-gen EV battery roadmap. The plans include advanced electric models due out in 2026 with nearly 500 miles (800 km) range, aligning with Toyota’s new production ramp plans.

Earlier this week, Toyota showed off its future EV production line, including Giga casting technology, self-propelled assembly lines, and robots to transport finished vehicles, all designed to help it cut costs and increase output in the wake of the industry shakeup.

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Toyota bZ compact SUV concept (Source: Toyota)

New Lexus brand boss Takashi Watanabe claimed the brand will spearhead Toyota’s next-gen EV offensive. Watanabe said it will “humbly look at and learn from” Tesla’s manufacturing success as it looks to compete in the coming electric age.

Electrek’s Take

We’ve heard this story many times before that Toyota is ramping up EV output. But, this time, it may be different.

Leaders at Toyota and Lexus are expressing urgency to keep up as electric vehicle sales continue climbing globally. If the automaker wants to remain competitive as the industry transitions, it will need to stay ahead of the pack, and so far, it’s well behind.

The new innovations will help Toyota compete, but waiting until 2026 could cost it. By then, there will be even more advanced batteries, designs, and manufacturing processes.

Furthermore, with only one-third of planned vehicle sales being purely electric by 2030, Toyota is already setting itself up for failure.

Many automakers are already achieving double-digit or 100% EV sales. Meanwhile, Toyota aims for around 33% EV sales share by the end of the decade.

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New 2026 Volvo S90 looks great – but if you can read this, you probably can’t have one

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New 2026 Volvo S90 looks great – but if you can read this, you probably can't have one

Volvo Cars took the wraps off new-for-2026 S90 plug-in hybrid, calling the big sedan the most elegant and comfortable 90 yet, promising nearly 50 miles (80 km) of all-electric range and a comprehensive suite of high-end technology and design updates … but if you’re reading this in English, you probably can’t have one.

The updated Volvo S90 is still blinking into the spotlight, but there are already reports that Volvo Cars has decided against bringing the slick new sedan to the US. And Canada. And the UK. And … you get the idea.

That’s too bad, too – because the SPA S90 has always been a comfortable and capable performer. Alas, sedans aren’t selling, you could get whiplash trying to keep track of all the tariff news these days, and Volvo (like a lot of companies in 2025, frankly), no longer needs the English-speaking world to keep it profitable.

“The S90 is a key part of our product portfolio for the coming years in some of our Asian markets,” says Erik Severinson, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Volvo Cars. “Together with the new fully electric ES90, the new S90 ensures we have a complete and attractive offering for customers who value safety and want to drive a large, sleek Volvo sedan.”

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Invoking the electric-only ES90 EV is a key point here – and Volvo is pushing its marketing heavily into the idea that the PHEV version(s) of the face-lifted luxo-cruiser is “really” an EV, with press copy that reads:

As a plug-in hybrid, the new S90 is an electric car with a back-up plan. It offers 80 kilometers of fully electric range on a single charge under the WLTP testing cycle, while also providing more power when needed. This means that many S90 drivers will be able to do their daily commute with zero tailpipe emissions. Volvo Cars’ data shows that nearly half of the distance covered by the latest plug-in hybrid Volvo cars is powered purely by electricity.

VOLVO CARS

There’s plenty to unpack there – not the least of which is whether or not the cars’ owners will ever actually plug them in. My personal experience with friends and neighbors who own T8/PHEV Volvos now would tell me that they’re more likely than, say, Jeep Wrangler 4xe owners to plug-in … but it hardly matters at this point.

The new S90 will be available to order for customers in China this summer, with selected other markets following later.

Check out some of the official press photos, below, then let us know whether or not you’ll miss seeing new S90s on English-speaking roads in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Cars.

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The messy middle, hybrid semis, and century old tech comes to trucking

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The messy middle, hybrid semis, and century old tech comes to trucking

On today’s fleet-focused episode of Quick Charge, we talk about a hot topic in today’s trucking industry called, “the messy middle,” explore some of the ways legacy truck brands are working to reduce fuel consumption and increase freight efficiency. PLUS: we’ve got ReVolt Motors’ CEO and founder Gus Gardner on-hand to tell us why he thinks his solution is better.

You know, for some people.

We’ve also got a look at the Kenworth Supertruck 2 concept truck, revisit the Revoy hybrid tandem trailer, and even plug a great article by CCJ’s Jeff Seger, who is asking some great questions over there. All this and more – enjoy!

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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Trump’s war on clean energy just killed $6B in red state projects

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Trump’s war on clean energy just killed B in red state projects

Thanks to Trump’s repeated executive order attacks on US clean energy policy, nearly $8 billion in investments and 16 new large-scale factories and other projects were cancelled, closed, or downsized in Q1 2025.

The $7.9 billion in investments withdrawn since January are more than three times the total investments cancelled over the previous 30 months, according to nonpartisan policy group E2’s latest Clean Economy Works monthly update. 

However, companies continue to invest in the US renewable sector. Businesses in March announced 10 projects worth more than $1.6 billion for new solar, EV, and grid and transmission equipment factories across six states. That includes Tesla’s plan to invest $200 million in a battery factory near Houston that’s expected to create at least 1,500 new jobs. Combined, the projects are expected to create at least 5,000 new permanent jobs if completed.

Michael Timberlake of E2 said, “Clean energy companies still want to invest in America, but uncertainty over Trump administration policies and the future of critical clean energy tax credits are taking a clear toll. If this self-inflicted and unnecessary market uncertainty continues, we’ll almost certainly see more projects paused, more construction halted, and more job opportunities disappear.”

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March’s 10 new projects bring the overall number of major clean energy projects tracked by E2 to 390 across 42 states and Puerto Rico. Companies have said they plan to invest more than $133 billion in these projects and hire 122,000 permanent workers.

Since Congress passed federal clean energy tax credits in August 2022, 34 clean energy projects have been cancelled, downsized, or shut down altogether, wiping out more than 15,000 jobs and scrapping $10 billion in planned investment, according to E2 and Atlas Public Policy.

However, in just the first three months of 2025, after Trump started rolling back clean energy policies, 13 projects were scrapped or scaled back, totaling more than $5 billion. That includes Bosch pulling the plug on its $200 million hydrogen fuel cell plant in South Carolina and Freyr Battery canceling its $2.5 billion battery factory in Georgia.

Republican-led districts have reaped the biggest rewards from Biden’s clean energy tax credits, but they’re also taking the biggest hits under Trump. So far, more than $6 billion in projects and over 10,000 jobs have been wiped out in GOP districts alone.

And the stakes are high. Through March, Republican districts have claimed 62% of all clean energy project announcements, 71% of the jobs, and a staggering 83% of the total investment.

A full map and list of announcements can be seen on E2’s website here. E2 says it will incorporate cancellation data in the coming weeks.

Read more: FREYR kills plans to build a $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia


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