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Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) plans to sell a higher mix of electric vehicles in Europe. Company officials confirmed to Nikkei Asia that the Japanese automaker will target 20% of its new car sales in Europe be electric models by 2026.
As part of the bigger EV push in Europe, Toyota (TM) plans to introduce six new electric models. Yoshihiro Nakata, president and chief executive of Toyota Motor Europe, said, “Compared to other regions, carbon neutrality [in Europe] awareness is high, and actual demand for zero-emission vehicles is high,” noted Yoshihiro Nakata, Toyota’s top exec in Europe. Notably, Nakata said local production for local consumption is the basic idea. “If a certain sustained sales volume can be expected, production within the European region will be considered,” updated Nakata. Currently, Toyota (TM) is estimated to hold down just 1% of the European EV market share. Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAF)’s sales in Europe accounted for about 11% of total global sales for Toyota (TM) last year.
Last week, reports indicated that Toyota halted some production in China amid reports of weak demand for gas-powered cars.
Seeking Alpha analyst Keith Williams recently broke down why Toyota (TM) is still struggling with the BEV transition.
Shares of Toyota (TM) fell 2.80% in late morning trading on Monday.