Aichi, Dec. 12 (BNA): Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) is expected to outline adjustments to its electric vehicle (EV) strategy for major suppliers early next year, as it races to narrow the price-performance gap with industry leaders Tesla and BYD. .
According to Reuters, the leading Japanese automaker is expected to detail EV plan changes through early 2026, and communicate modifications to major suppliers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential.
Toyota is looking at ways to improve the competitiveness of its planned electric vehicles for this decade, in part by accelerating the adoption of performance-enhancing technologies for its planned electric vehicles, from electric drive systems to electronics that convert power from the grid to energy stored in batteries and more integrated heating and cooling systems.
However, the changes may include delays in some electric vehicle development programs originally planned for the three-year period.
The changes will be for Toyota’s initial EVs’ successors for major markets, the bZ4X and Lexus RZ, and aim to close the gap with Tesla Inc on cost and performance.
Toyota is scheduled to hold a major supplier meeting in February, its first global supplier agreement since the pandemic.
It said in a statement that it “always discusses and actively works with key (suppliers and partners) on a variety of topics” to achieve carbon neutrality. But it said it had no new details to disclose about electric vehicle development projects.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla made nearly eight times as much car profit as Toyota for the third quarter, analysts said, in part because of its ability to streamline electric vehicle production and reduce cost.
Toyota is reviewing a three-phase, $30 billion plan to develop and launch electric vehicles that it announced late last year.
It has put work on hold on some battery-powered vehicle projects announced last year, while a working group headed by former chief competitive officer Shigeki Terashi looks to improve cost performance and technology in the fast-growing electric vehicle market.
The working group is tasked with developing plans to improve Toyota’s approach to electric vehicles, including consideration of a potential successor to its new electric platform, e-TNGA.
Most major automakers expect electric vehicles to account for the majority of auto sales by 2030, and environmental investors and environmental groups have pushed Toyota to move faster as industry-wide sales of electric vehicles have outpaced Toyota’s previous assumptions.
Toyota’s electric vehicle strategy has focused on introducing cars such as the bZ4X, the first in a series of battery electric vehicles under the “After Zero” series name.
The second phase of Toyota’s plan covers the next several years when Toyota will have models based on the e-TNGA platform in development, the company has told some suppliers. Adjustments to this stage are changes that will likely be outlined to suppliers early next year.
The Terashi Group is now considering whether to ditch the three-year-old e-TNGA architecture, which was created by modifying a gasoline-powered car platform, in favor of a dedicated EV platform, people familiar with the business said.
The E-TNGA is designed so that electric vehicles can be built on Toyota assembly lines with gasoline and hybrid cars, a compromise that limits the automaker’s ability to introduce innovations on the factory floor that Toyota engineers now recognize as key to Tesla’s strength.
Also, Toyota designed the e-TNGA system on the assumption that it would need to sell about 3.5 million electric vehicles annually, about a third of its current global volume, by 2030, the sources said, while industry projections point to a faster pace of growth. .
Toyota is working with two suppliers, Denso (6902T) and Aisin (7259.T), to get the EV restart.
He has been looking at whether he can accelerate adoption of a new thermal management system jointly developed by Aisin and Denso and potentially a more advanced electric motor, or eAxle, from Aisin.
FAE