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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Tesla (TSLA) board fully loses its mind and offers Elon Musk a pay package worth up to $1 trillion
Tesla’s board, which has already compensated CEO Elon Musk more than the company earned through its entire existence, is now offering a new pay package worth up to $1 trillion.
Today, Tesla filed its proxy statement ahead of its shareholders’ meeting in November, and there’s a lot in there, but the headline-stealing item is a new compensation plan being proposed for the company’s controversial CEO, Elon Musk.
Musk saw his previous compensation plan, worth $55 billion, the biggest ever for a CEO, rescinded by a judge who found Musk to have negotiated, or more accurately, not negotiated, against a board under his control.
To compensate him, the board gave Musk a pay package worth $26 billion last month and said that a bigger, longer-term package would also be submitted for shareholders’ approval soon.
Now, Tesla has submitted the new compensation package for shareholders’ approval, and in short, it would give Musk, who is already Tesla’s largest shareholder, about $1 trillion more in stock options.
To receive the grant, Tesla would need to increase its market cap to roughly $8.5 trillion and achieve some milestones, such as putting 1 million Robotaxis into operation and delivering over 1 million robots.
Tesla board members Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson wrote in a letter to shareholders:
We’re asking you to approve the 2025 CEO Performance Award. In designing the new performance award, we explored numerous alternatives. Ultimately, the new award aims to build upon the success of the 2018 CEO Performance Award framework, which ensured that Elon was only paid for performance delivered and incentivized to guide Tesla through a period of meteoric growth. The 2025 CEO Performance Award similarly challenges Elon to again meet a series of even more aspirational goals, including operational milestones focused on reaching Adjusted EBITDA targets (thresholds that are up to 28 times higher than the 2018 CEO Performance Award’s top Adjusted EBITDA milestone) and rolling out new or expanded product offerings (including 1 million Robotaxis in commercial operation and delivery of 1 million AI Bots), all while growing the company’s market capitalization by trillions of dollars.
Tesla’s shareholders meeting is going to be held on November 6, 2025.
Electrek’s Take
Musk is already the person who benefits the most from Tesla’s stock by a long shot. He would be benefiting even more if he hadn’t sold tens of billions worth of stock to buy an overpriced Twitter, but that was his own decision.
Now, he managed to convince the board, which is obviously still fully under his control, to give him a new pay package worth up to $1 trillion, as Tesla’s sales have been going down two years in a row and earnings are in a steady decline for coming up on 3 years in a row now.
The craziest thing is that Tesla shareholders are going to happily give him the money and hope that he can pump Tesla’s stock enough to get paid.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla Master Plan Part 4, a new affordable EV from VW, wireless EV charging, and more.
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We are finally getting our first look at the future of BMW. The iX3 is “a massive leap” from BMW’s current vehicles with nearly 500 miles of range, ultra-fast charging, and the brand’s advanced new tech. And that’s just the start. The BMW iX3 kicks off a new era for the German luxury brand.
BMW unveils the iX3 with 500 miles range, fast charging
BMW promised the iX3 would be “the benchmark of the industry,” and it wasn’t kidding. The stylish new electric SUV made its world debut at the Munich Motor Show on Friday as the first of BMW’s Neue Klasse models.
After unveiling the new electric SUV for the first time, CEO Oliver Zipse called it a “one-in-a-lifetime moment” and the start of a new era for BMW.
The iX3 is the first of an entirely new generation of BMW vehicles, created from the ground up. BMW “skipped an entire generation” when it comes to design, Zipse said, adding it’s still “more BMW than ever.”
To maximize range, BMW gave it a clean, aerodynamic design with very few lines. One of the first things you’ll notice is the re-imaged front end. The new face is centered around an updated vertically oriented kidney grille, which is designed to match the more upright vehicle design.
As the first vehicle powered by its new Gen6 platform, the iX3 is “a massive leap” from current BMW models in terms of range, charging, efficiency, and more. It’s also BMW’s first EV with bidirectional charging.
The BMW iX3 offers an impressive WLTP range of up to nearly 500 miles (800 km). On the EPA scale, it’s expected to deliver around 400 miles of range.
Based on an 800V architecture, the BMW iX3 can deliver charging speeds of up to 400 kW. According to BMW, that means it can add over 230 miles (370 km) in just 10 minutes.
Updated interior powered by super-brains
The interior is just as impressive with an updated minimalist design. A massive 17.9″ infotainment, powered by its new Operating System X, sits at the center.
It’s also the first BMW model to debut with its new Panoramic iDrive system. The new system “offers a whole new driving experience” and will be used in all upcoming BMW vehicles.
BMW’s new infotainment is powered by “genuine super-brains,” or four advanced computers that can process data about 20 times faster than the systems found in current vehicles.
Measuring 4,782 mm in length, 1,895 mm in width, and 1,635 mm in height, the BMW iX3 is about the same size as the Porsche Macan Electric (see our review).
BMW will begin iX3 production later this year at its new plant in Debrecen. Deliveries are scheduled to start in Europe in early 2026, followed by the US in the summer. BMW will build a special variant for China, which will be produced at its Shenyang plant.
It will initially launch as the BMW iX3 50 xDrive. In Germany, it’s already listed on BMW’s website with prices starting at €68,900 ($81,000).
In the US, the new BMW iX3 will be available in summer of 2026, starting at around $60,000 with an estimated range of around 400 miles. In early 2027, BMW will launch the iX3 40 sDrive and iX3 40 xDrive. BMW said prices will start at under $55,000 with slightly over 300 miles range.
Starting next year, BMW said every vehicle will be all-new. The new iX3 will be the first of 40 new or updated BMW vehicles by 2027.
What do you think of the all-new BMW design? Are you a fan? Drop us a comment and let us know your thoughts.
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