Toyota to Unveil Two Canada-bound EVs, One PHEV Later in 2021
After more than two decades of focusing on hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles, Toyota announced on Wednesday that it will unveil two battery-electric vehicles for the North American market later in 2021.
They will go on sale next year as 2022 models, meaning they are different from the revolutionary EV prototype with a solid-state battery Toyota promised back in December.
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At least one of them will be a crossover set to take on the Volkswagen ID.4, Nissan Ariya and to some extent the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The other remains a complete mystery at this point.
These vehicles are part of Toyota’s plan to launch 10 new EV models globally and electrify 40 percent of its lineup by 2025 before moving to 70 percent by 2030.
No further details were provided, however. We know that Toyota is developing a dedicated electric vehicle platform together with Subaru. Also, Europe will have priority, so Canadian customers will need to wait their turn.
In addition to the two EVs, Toyota announced it will debut a new plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2021, with sales to begin in 2022. We wonder if it will be a Toyota-branded product or a Lexus variant of the RAV4 Prime, as trademark filings from last year suggested.
Toyota, which already sells hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, wants "to be the Macy's department store of powertrains" by adding fully electric options, according to Toyota North America executive vice president of sales Bob Carter.