Toyota has pledged to launch more than 10 electric cars by the early 2020s, signalling a major shift from petrol engines to electric motors by 2025.
The Japanese car maker, which owns the Lexus brand, has a strategy to release a cohort of battery-powered and fuel-cell powered electric vehicles across the two bands to go alongside its hybrid electric vehicles, all in a major push to electrify its entire car line up by 2030.
This move will be spearheaded by the release of ten battery-powered full-electric vehicles (BEVs) in the early 2020s. While by 2025 every Toyota or Lexus car will have a full-electric model or the option of a hybrid electric powertrain.
“Toyota will accelerate the popularisation of BEVs with more than 10 BEV models to be available worldwide by the early 2020s, starting in China, before entering other markets – the gradual introduction to Japan, India, the United States and Europe is expected,” the car maker said.
And as the 2020s progress we can expect to see more electric vehicles and hybrid machines from Toyota, with the company aiming to have sales of in excess of 5.5 million electrified vehicles by 2030, with a million of those being zero-emissions cars.
This may seem like an ambitions strategy for a mass-market car maker, but Toyota has arguably been a pioneer of electric vehicles, notably with its Prius hybrid car which is now a common sight on roads in the Europe and the US.
And Toyota isn’t alone in this push towards electrification, with Volvo aiming to have every car it launches from 2019 to have an electric motor. The Volkswagen Group, Jaguar Land Rover, and even the performance-orientated Mercedes, all have similar electric vehicle ambitions.
This is good news for the environment but some petrol-heads may see this as the beginning of the end for gutsy petrol-powered cars with exhilarating engine sounds and throttle responses.
No doubt performance car makers will aim to fetter their electric motors to convey exciting driving experiences, but it would seem petrol engine cars are slowly but inevitably on their way out.
Related: Best concept cars of 2017
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.