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With electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Japan at less than 3% of new car sales, Toyota and other Japanese OEMs have been slow to embrace EVs. Have Japanese automakers missed the global EV train?
Tesla and China’s BYD lead in battery-electric vehicles, while Japan’s automakers are absent from the Top 10 EV manufacturers globally. Yet, Toyota’s hybrid vehicles have brought in record profits amid sluggish EV adoption worldwide. Does this strategy make Toyota smarter than their competitors?
Toyota’s earnings have been on a tear thanks to its hybrid lineup. With its biggest rival Volkswagen announcing severe restructuring plans, Toyota seems to be working on a different planet.
So once again: Are Japan's OEMs smarter than their competition?
With stricter emissions regulations ahead, a global EV shift seems inevitable. Honda and Toyota are preparing for EV model launches in 2025 and 2026, but challenges remain: Can they pivot quickly enough to close the gap?
In 2024, Toyota sold a record 12 million cars worldwide and cemented its position as the world’s largest automaker. But what will its role be in a battery-centric future? How will the EV shift impact Japan’s automotive industry?
In this exclusive JBI series, we’ll go on a journey to search for answer to these questions.
- In Part 2, we’ll take a closer look at Toyota’s model strategy and why they underestimated the speed of the EV shift.
- Then, we’ll take a deep-dive into Toyota’s battery roadmap.
- In Part 5, we’ll look at Honda and Nissan, and how they form new partnerships in their struggle for survival.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey as we discover who the winners and losers will be in the race towards EV supremacy.
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