Toyota Bets Big On Hybrid-Only Models As EV Demand Falters

Toyota may be one of the slowest legacy automakers to develop electric vehicles (EVs), but it could be the first to phase out cars powered solely by gasoline, as reported by Norihiko Shirouzu for Reuters.

The Japanese automaker promotes a "multi-pathway" strategy that includes EVs alongside hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, green fuels, and potentially other technologies yet to emerge. I  Photo: Toyota Canada

Almost three decades after launching the Prius, its pioneering gasoline-electric hybrid, Toyota is now moving to convert most, and eventually perhaps all, of its Toyota and Lexus lineup to hybrid-only models, according to two Toyota executives who spoke to Reuters.

Toyota's steadfast focus on hybrids over EVs is part of a broader challenge by the world's biggest automaker to the prevailing industry and regulatory assumption that all cars will be electric in the near future.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda stated in January that he believed the global share of EVs would top out at just 30%.

The Japanese automaker instead promotes a "multi-pathway" strategy that includes EVs alongside hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, green fuels, and potentially other technologies yet to emerge.

"Going forward, we plan to evaluate, carline by carline, whether going all-hybrid makes sense," said David Christ, head of sales and marketing for Toyota in North America, in an interview with Reuters.