Toyota US boss says company is ‘catching up’ on electric vehicles
Is Toyota catching up in the US electric vehicle market? Although Toyota’s US boss, Ted Ogawa, admits it’s behind Tesla, he believes the company is “catching up” on electric vehicles and new tech.
Toyota has been among the biggest laggards in shifting to fully electric vehicles. After a rocky start (including a recall) with the launch of its first EV in the US, the bZ4X, Toyota has failed to gain traction in the market.
Of the over 2.2 million Toyota vehicles sold in the US last year, only 9,329 were all-electric, or less than 0.5%.
The trend has continued this year, with only 1,897 bZ4X models sold through March. That’s less than 0.4% of the over 486,000 Toyota vehicles sold in Q1.
Ogawa says Toyota is watching customer demand for EVs rather than regulations. “However, the BEV was our missing piece two years ago, so that’s why we were very much criticized,” Ogawa explained in a new interview with Automotive News.
After building internally over the past two years, Toyota’s US boss believes the company is “catching up” on electric vehicles and new tech.
Is Toyota catching up on electric vehicles?
For example, Ogawa said that Toyota headquarters is building a “very exclusive factory” for EVs.
The new “BEV Factory” will feature several new technologies new to Toyota. The company showed off its next-gen EV production line last year with Giga casting, a process made popular by Tesla.
Toyota says its “wealth of knowledge” about molds will help speed up production. The company believes it can reduce the lead time for changing molds to around 20 minutes compared to 24 hours.
Other tech like self-propelled assembly lines and robots are promised to enhance efficiency while minimizing defects.
Toyota also revealed new EV battery plans last summer, including two next-gen batteries due out by 2027. The first “Performance” battery is promised to feature over 800 km (497 miles) range while cutting costs by 20% compared to the bZ4X.
Meanwhile, the “Popularisation” version, due out in 2026-2027, is expected to feature over 600 km (372 miles) range at 40% lower costs.
Further out (2027-2030), Toyota plans to launch a series of “further evolution” batteries, including solid-state batteries with over 1,000 km (621 mi) range and 10-min fast charge.
Ogawa believes “this is kind of the starting year of the real multipath way, like the hybrid, which we already have, and then plug-in, something between hybrid and BEV, and then BEV, which it is time to introduce to the market.”
Although Toyota is “of course” behind Tesla’s battery tech, according to Ogawa, the company is “catching up.” Ogawa said Toyota is not only catching up on EVs but “also the ecosystem surrounding the BEV area, such as the home charging or energy management.”
Electrek’s Take
Is Toyota really catching up this time? We’ve heard this several times in the past from executives.
With EVs accounting for less than 0.4% of sales in the US, Toyota will need to do more to prove it. Toyota planned to launch solid-state EV batteries in 2021 and 2022, but now we are not expected to see them hit the market until around 2028 (at the earliest).
Other tech, like Giga casting and automated production, will help improve efficiency, but new EVs are not expected to debut until 2026.
Toyota has made several investments recently to boost US production, including a $1.4 billion investment in Indiana to build a new electric SUV, separate from its promised three-row EV model.
Can new models and tech help Toyota catch up in the electric vehicle market this time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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If you’re considering going electric, May will be a great time to score a deal on an EV lease. Automakers are slashing lease prices on some of the most popular EVs to move inventory – here are four standouts.
Nissan Ariya SUV
The Nissan Ariya SUV has an MSRP of $41,805. Its lease term is 36 months, with $4,409 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. Monthly payment? A sweet $129!
Nissan cut the 2025 Ariya Engage’s price by $144 in April, so it now has an effective monthly cost of $251 – that’s seriously affordable for an electric SUV. If you’re already a Nissan driver, then you’re going to get an even better deal, because Nissan is offering a $1,000 loyalty discount on the Ariya, which brings its effective cost down to $224 per month.
CarsDirect, which sniffed out this deal, thinks this Ariya deal will be in place until Memorial Day, so take advantage of tariff-free pricing while you can.
Click here to find a local dealer that may have the Nissan Ariya in stock. –trusted affiliate copy
Honda Prologue SUV
The Honda Prologue SUV has an MSRP of $48,850. Its lease term is 36 months, with $1,399 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. The monthly payment on the Prologue is $239.
The 2024 Honda Prologue has up to $18,800 in rebates, and the price includes a $1,000 lease loyalty discount or conquest offer. In California and other ZEV states, the EX has an effective cost of just $278 per month; in other parts of the US, pricing will be around $30 higher. This offer ends July 7.
Click here to find a local dealer that may have the Honda Prologue in stock. –trusted affiliate copy
Tesla Model 3
The Tesla Model 3 has an MSRP of $43,880. Its best lease term is 24 months, with $1,044 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. The monthly payment on the Model 3 is $349.
The 2025 Tesla Model 3 still has the $7,500 federal government EV rebate. Several months ago, Tesla reduced the amount due at signing on all Model 3s. And for those who want to lease a Long Range Model 3, the effective cost can be as low as $393 per month.
You can lease the Model 3 for 36 months, but the folks at CarsDirect found that the better deal will be had on 24-month leases. They compared the Model 3’s MSRP to the 2025 Lexus IS 300 F Sport’s MSRP, which is nearly identical, and the Model 3 was around 30% cheaper to lease.
Acura ZDX
The 2024 Acura ZDX has an MSRP of $65,850. Its best lease term is 36 months, with $4,699 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 7,500 a year. The monthly payment on the ZDX is $299.
The 2024 ZDX is Acura’s cheapest vehicle to lease because it features up to $29,450 in lease cash. However, the best deal is limited to California and ZEV states. If you cash in on a loyalty discount or conquest cash, the effective cost is $430 per month. This offer runs til June 30.
Click here to find a local dealer that may have the Acura ZDX in stock. –trusted affiliate copy
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Ford (F) reported its first-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street’s revenue and EPS expectations. However, with Trump’s auto tariffs, Ford is suspending full-year guidance. Here’s a breakdown of Ford’s Q1 2025 earnings
Ford Q1 2025 earnings preview
After crosstown rival General Motors cut its full-year financial guidance last week, investors are waiting to see if Ford will follow suit.
Ford’s previous 2025 forecast called for EBIT of $7 billion to $8.5 billion and capital expenditures between $8 billion and $9 billion.
The biggest threat is Trump’s new auto tariffs, which include a 25% duty on imported vehicles and many parts. Since Ford builds a greater percentage of vehicles in the US than any other major automaker, outside of Tesla, it isn’t expected to see as big of an impact.
CEO Jim Farley called it “an opportunity for Ford,” during an interview with CNN last week, saying the company has a “different footprint, a different exposure for tariffs.”
Ford imports around 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US, while GM imports around 46%. According to Estimize, Wall St expects Ford to post Q1 EPS of $0.0 on revenue of $38.02 billion.
The company reports earnings for each of its three business units, Ford Blue (gas-powered vehicles), Model e (electric vehicles), and Ford Pro (commercial and software business).
In the fourth quarter, Ford’s EV unit (Model e) lost another $1.4 billion while Pro and Blue each reported an adjusted EBIT of $1.6 billion.
Financial breakdown
Ford beat Wall Street estimates, reporting first-quarter revenue of $40.7 billion with an adjusted EPS of 0.49.
- Q1 2025 Revenue: $40.7 billion vs $38.02 billion expected.
- Q1 2025 Adjusted EPS: $0.49 vs $0.0 expected.
The company posted adjusted EBIT of $1 billion, down 63% from Q1 2024. Ford said its first-quarter EBIT suffered a nearly $200 million hit from added tariff costs, primarily in Ford Blue and Ford Pro.
Ford Pro generated an EBIT of $1.3 billion, Ford Blue $96 million, and Ford Model e reported an EBIT loss of $849 million.
For Model e, the company is focused on improving gross margins and “exercising a disciplined approach to investments in battery facilities and next-generation products.” Although still a nearly $1 billion loss, it’s still a $500 million improvement from Q1 2024.
Ford said higher Model e revenue was driven by new EVs launching in Europe, like the electric Explorer and Capri.
The company said its “Power Promise” promotion, which includes a free home charger and several other benefits, has helped drive demand in the US.
Although it’s tracking within its previous full-year adjusted EBIT guidance of between $7 billion and $8.5 billion, Ford is suspending full-year guidance due to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
Ford estimates the full-year gross cost of tariffs to be around $2.5 billion. It expects a tariff-related net adverse adjusted EBIT impact of about $1.5 billion for the full year 2025.
Ford also extended its “From America, For America” campaign last week. The promo includes employee pricing on most 2024 and 2025 models and now runs through July 4.
Check back for more info from Ford’s first quarter conference call. Ford is also hosting its annual meeting on Thursday, May 8, where we should learn more about its EV plans and how it will navigate the new tariffs.
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