Toyota Europe to Expand Lineup of Electric Vehicles; Move Runs Counter to Trend Among Other European Automakers

By Azusa Nakanishi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:52 JST, March 13, 2025

LONDON — Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA on Wednesday unveiled three electric vehicle models to be introduced soon to European markets.

While other European carmakers have started turning back to developing hybrid and other engine-powered vehicles, the Toyota Motor Corp. subsidiary hopes that expanding its lineup of electric vehicles, a field in which Toyota has lagged until now, will strengthen the company’s market competitiveness.

The three models are a modified version of the bZ4X medium-sized sport-utility vehicle, which was Toyota’s first mass-produced EV; the C-HR+, a medium-sized crossover; and the Urban Cruiser, a compact sport-utility vehicle. Orders are already being accepted for the Urban Cruiser and will begin for the two other models before the end of 2025.

Toyota will introduce six new models of electric passenger vehicles, including the three revealed in this announcement, in Europe by 2026.This will bring the range of EVs that the automaker sells on the European market, including those sold under its luxury Lexus brand, to a total of 14 models by that year. Other European carmakers’ sales of EV models have slowed, for reasons including the cancelation of government subsidies. Consequently, these automakers have scaled back targets for their EV fleets and quickly changed to plans that focus more on developing engine-powered vehicles.

By contrast, Toyota is not budging from its previously established plan to put more EVs on the market. Speaking in a joint interview, Toyota Motor Europe Chief Executive Officer Yoshihiro Nakata explained the reasoning behind sticking to that plan: “Demand for electric vehicles is weakening in this region. However, their widespread adoption is happening far faster here than in other regions,” Nakata said.

Toyota’s business performance in Europe has been solid. Vehicle sales in 2024, including in Turkey, climbed 4% from the previous year to hit a record high of about 1.22 million units, including Lexus models. Hybrid and other engine-powered vehicles, a field in which Toyota excels, boosted the overall results.

Toyota currently forecasts its annual electric vehicle sales in Europe, including commercial vehicles, will climb to about 250,000 units by 2027. The company expects EVs will account for about 20% of its sales in that region, a sharp increase from the 2024 figure of about 3%.

However, the prospects for global EV sales have grown unclear due to a range of factors including the return to the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump, who opposes efforts toward decarbonization. Nakata said predicting what will happen in the future is “extremely difficult,” but he did not clarify whether Toyota would decide to produce EVs in Europe.