Automakers continue to delay their EV plans. Bentley, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and others have pushed back their electrification timelines as the market cools, and now Toyota is doing the same.
“We’re still focused on our global [battery electric vehicle] target of 1.5 million vehicles by 2026,” Toyota spokesperson Scott Vazin told the BBC. Even with the delay, the automaker still plans to produce “5 to 7 [battery electric vehicles] in the US,” said Vazin.
Toyota invested $1.3 billion into its Georgetown Assembly Plant in Kentucky toward the production of an electric three-row SUV. The company also spent $1.3 billion in North Carolina for lithium-ion battery production and allocated $1.4 billion for EV production at its Princeton, Indiana facility.
Toyota’s three-row electric SUV will still happen—just later than expected. Nikkei Asia reports that design updates, which suppliers must catch up to, also contributed to the delay. As for the three-row Lexus EV scheduled for 2030, it is reportedly no longer being built in the US. Instead, Lexus will likely import that model from Japan.