Toyota’s production falls for the first time in 4 years as slow EV shift proves costly
Japan’s largest automaker is struggling as low-priced Chinese EV makers, like BYD, continue gaining an edge. Toyota’s global output fell for the first time in four years in the first half of 2024. Is the company’s slow shift to EVs to blame?
Toyota’s global output drops amid slow EV shift
It’s no secret by now that Toyota is one of the biggest laggards in the industry’s transition to all-electric vehicles.
The company built 4.71 million vehicles in the first half of fiscal 2024, down 7% from the record 5.06 million built last year. This is also the first time in four years that Toyota’s global production has slipped.
After halting production of the popular Yariss Cross and Corolla Fielder due to improper vehicle certifications in Japan, Toyota’s domestic output slipped 9.4% in the first half of the year.
Toyota said a recall on the Prius hybrid also led to lower production. Overseas, Toyota’s production slipped nearly 6% to 3.17 million units. In North America, volume was down by 1.7%, while in Europe, volume was up by 3.2%.
Toyota was hit especially hard in China, with output crashing 17%. Like many legacy automakers, Toyota is struggling to keep pace with Chinese EV leaders like BYD with extremely low-priced models.
BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, starts at under $10,000 (69,800 yuan) and continues to sit atop the sales charts.
Between April and September 2024, Toyota’s global sales fell 2.8% to 5 million units. This was the first decline in two years, with domestic (-9.3%) and overseas (-1.6%) falling.
Although EV sales rose 32.5% to 78,178 units, Toyota cut production plans for all-electric vehicles by 30% by 2026.
Toyota now expects to build around 1 million EVs by 2026, down from its previous 1.5 million target.
Electrek’s Take
As one of the slowest automakers to transition to all-electric vehicles, Toyota is feeling the pressure. And it’s not only in China.
Chinese EV makers, like BYD, are quickly expanding overseas as the domestic market is becoming saturated with low-priced competitors.
BYD launched its third EV in Japan this summer, the Seal, which is often compared to Tesla’s Model 3. The Seal joins the Dolphin and Atto 3, two of BYD’s top-selling EVs. Starting at around $24,500 (¥3.63 million), the Dolphin EV is a direct threat to the Toyota Prius and Nissan LEAF.
Earlier this month, The Central Japan Economic and Trade Bureau held a seminar (via Nikkei) to explore trends in the EV industry.
The event showcased around 90,000 parts from 16 foreign automakers, and around 70 auto parts companies were in attendance.
BYD’s Atto 3 electric SUV, which starts at under $20,000 (140,000 yuan) in China, stole the show. One guest asked, “How can it be produced at such a low cost?”
On Wednesday, BYD reported record Q3 revenue and profits as vehicle sales continued surging to new levels.
With Toyota promising its next-gen batteries will enable more efficient, lower-priced EVs, will it be too little too late? The company says its “Popularisation” LFP batteries, due out by 2027, will provide over 373 miles (600 km) WLTP driving range.
According to data from CnEVPost, BYD accounted for nearly a third of the LFP batteries installed in China in September. In China, LFP batteries account for almost 75% of the market.
Source: Toyota, Kyodo News
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Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.
Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers
The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.
Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:
The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”
As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.
Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.
Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:
Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.
Electrek’s Take
In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?
Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.
It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.
Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory
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The breakthrough EV batteries Toyota says will double driving range and cut charging times are facing another setback. The company is once again delaying plans for a new battery plant in Japan.
Why is Toyota delaying its EV battery plant this time?
Earlier this year, Toyota bought a 280,000-square-meter plot of land in Fukuoka, Japan, where it planned to build a plant to produce the more advanced EV batteries.
A location agreement was expected to be signed by April, but Toyota pushed back construction by several months, blaming slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
The agreement was expected to be finalized this Fall, but that will no longer be the case. According to Nikkei, Toyota is delaying the EV battery plant for the second time. Toyota will review and adjust plans over the next year.
Fukuoka governor, Seitaro Hattori, confirmed the news with reporters on Friday following a meeting with Toyota’s president, Koji Sato. Hattori also shut down claims that Toyota was planning to scrap the battery plant altogether.
Toyota again blamed slowing EV demand for the delay. The decision comes despite Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Advanced Engineering Development Center, confirming at the Japan Mobility Show just last week that it’s “sticking on the schedule” to introduce its first solid-state battery-powered EV by 2028.
Last month, Toyota said it aimed to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” after securing a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to mass-produce them. It’s also working with Japanese oil giant Idemitsu.
The company recently revealed a solid-state battery pack prototype that it claims can deliver 747 miles (1,200 km) range and 10-minute fast charging, but will we ever see it actually in production?
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has been making empty promises about EV batteries for almost a decade now. It initially planned to introduce solid-state EV batteries in 2020, then pushed it to 2023, then 2026, and now it’s saying it will be around 2028.
Mass production is likely closer to the end of the decade, if Toyota doesn’t delay it again. While it’s blaming the slowing demand, global EV sales are still on the rise. According to Rho Motion, global EV sales topped 2 million for the first time in a single month in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EV sales are up 26% compared to the same period in 2024.
Even with the US ending the $7,500 federal tax credit and other policies designed to promote electric vehicles, global adoption will continue building momentum over the next few years.
Is it a demand issue, or is Toyota just looking for another excuse? With rivals like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda advancing next-gen EV batteries, Toyota will only fall further behind if it continues delaying key projects.
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