Toyota may not be too cheery on fully electric cars yet because hybrids are hot

Toyota Motor Corp. may be slightly behind the curve in the fully electric vehicle (EV) game, especially when compared to global leader Tesla. But even though it remains doggedly determined to play a big role in the world of EVs, hybrids are its power statement across the world.

Toyota recently cut its EV sales expectations for this fiscal year by a whopping 39 per cent - from 202,000 to a modest 123,000. This was announced by the company during its second-quarter financial report. The Japanese company may be the biggest car maker in the world but its offerings in the completely electric space remains tepidly few. As such, it is banking on conventional vehicles and hybrids to pave its way forward.

Toyota and Lexus together are aiming big, very big. Expected to together roll out as many as 10.1 million vehicle units this fiscal year, Toyota itself plans to sell as many as 3.6 hybrid vehicle units by the time this fiscal year ends. Total sales of electrified models - this includes hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) - is expected to touch the 3.9 million mark.

But it isn't as if Toyota is pessimistic about the future of EVs. The company may only have a handful of fully electric models at present but is prepping to go big, go strong. It has already been confirmed that there are plans to launch as many as 10 new EVs by 2026 while solid-state batteries are promising to increase per-charge range to as high as 620 miles or 1,000 kms. It is just that EV sales may not quite bring in the big bucks in the near future. According to Toyota CFO Yoichi Miyazaki, hybrids are laying the financial foundation from where EVs can take off.

Toyota isn't alone in moderating its predictions for EVs. Ford and GM have already lowered their manufacturing and sales' expectations from models that are entirely electrified. Tesla too has been involved in a number of price cuts in a number of markets where it operates as it possibly expected sales to thaw.

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