Tokyo, 7 April, /AJMEDIA/
Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it will expand its all-electric vehicle lineup by launching 10 new models and aim to sharply increase its EV sales to 1.5 million units annually by 2026 under the leadership of new President Koji Sato.
“We will do our utmost to push forward with electrification,” Sato said at a press conference after taking the helm of the world’s largest automaker on April 1. “We will ramp up our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.”
While expanding the EV business, the developer of the Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger vehicle, said it will work to maintain its lineup including hybrid and fuel cell vehicles.
His remarks came after the company pledged to develop next-generation electric vehicles by 2026 in an apparent effort to catch up with overseas rivals, which bet on the potential of all-electric cars earlier on.
Sato, the 53-year-old former head of the automaker’s upscale Lexus brand division, succeeded founding family scion Akio Toyoda, in the first change of guard at the company in 14 years.
