Toyota to ACCELERATE new EV push with Lexus

Incoming Toyota boss, Koji Sato, has revealed that he will accelerate the push to electrification at Toyota by focusing on new Lexus electric models.

Toyota has come in for criticism for being late to the electric car party, concentrating instead on delivering hybrid models which, they have asserted, will do more for CO2 reduction than pure BEVs.

That said, Toyota already laid out a strategy for electric cars with the reveal more than a year ago of 15 new electric models from both Toyota and Lexus.

So far, we’ve seen the Toyota bZ4X arrive as Toyota’s first all-electric model, although not without issues, and the reveal of its Lexus equivalent with the Lexus RZ.

Now, as Koji Sato prepares to take over from Akio Toyoda as CEO, he’s made it clear that although Toyota will be building ICE and Hybrid vehicles going forward, he wants to accelerate the drive to electric by concentrating on Lexus BEVs. Which makes sense.

Toyota’s a proper global brand selling in to almost every part of the globe, many parts of which have no real way to charge EVs and are not likely to in the coming years, so continued production of ICE and Hybrid models is just sensible and pragmatic.

Lexus, on the other hand, is sold primarily in First World countries where there is not only an established and growing charging network, but legislation-driven impetus in to EVs and, as importantly, enough wealth to live with the high cost of EVs.

Koji Sato said:

To deliver attractive BEVs to more customers, we must streamline the structure of the car, and with a BEV-first mindset, we must drastically change the way we do business, from manufacturing to sales and service. Lexus will lead this transformation.

The next generation of electric cars will come with a dedicated platform and new battery technology and will be launched by Lexus in 2026.