Toyota to launch six electric models in Europe by 2026

Toyota will launch six electric models in Europe by 2026 and start UK trials converting pick-up trucks to run on hydrogen, as the Japanese carmaker lays out plans to meet tougher emissions rules later this decade.

The group has been a leader in lowering carbon dioxide emissions because of its early use of hybrid technology but is rolling out battery-only vehicles as Europe prepares to phase out sales of any petrol or diesel models by 2035.

It will release five new vehicles following its debut model the bZ4X before 2026, though it does not expect to begin manufacturing electric vehicles in Europe until later in the decade as sales will not justify investing initially.

Toyota expects 10 per cent of its sales in the region will be battery electric cars by 2025, rising to about 80 per cent by 2030.

“Environmentally friendly cars can only contribute to the environment if they’re popularised,” said Toyota’s European president Matthew Harrison.

“And from that viewpoint, our range of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars have an important role to play.”

Its plans include assembling batteries for its new plug-in hybrid C-HR car in Europe and running a trial in the UK to retrofit its Hilux pick-up trucks to run on hydrogen.

The project will be run at its Burnaston plant in Derby, which makes the Toyota Corolla.

Despite rivals including Stellantis and Ford pledging to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2030 in the region, Toyota wants to keep sales of hybrid and hydrogen vehicles an option.

It argues that not every country will be able to accommodate electric vehicles because of either electricity networks or affordability.

“Around the world, more than 1bn people do not have access to adequate electricity supplies due to a lack of infrastructure,” said Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda.

While electric cars are “a satisfactory answer in Europe and increasingly in the Unites States . . . they are not yet an answer everywhere, nor are they yet affordable for all”.

Yet even within Europe, the carmaker will be forced to sell electric cars much faster in some markets or risk fines.

The UK, where Toyota has two production plants, is attempting to push carmakers harder by introducing China-style sales mandates from 2024.

Under proposed rules, 22 per cent of a brand’s sales must be zero emission vehicles in 2024, rising to 100 per cent by 2030.

The UK has not yet ruled on how it will treat hybrids in its calculations, and particularly Toyota’s, which use engines and batteries at the same time.

Harrison said the mandate was helpful in incentivising the charging industry to invest by guaranteeing a certain sales level, which he says will spur the spending needed to grow the network.

“I think it’s quite a smart thing for the government to put the gun to the head of the infrastructure companies and say, ‘you know what the volume is guaranteed to be, therefore get on with putting in this infrastructure’.”

The car industry has been in a stand-off with charging providers, saying motorists are put off buying electric vehicles because of the lack of charging points.

But Harrison added that forcing carmakers to sell certain quotas of pure electric models before 2025 was “punishing” businesses that favoured hybrids instead of pursuing electric vehicles.

At an event showcasing new models, Toyota’s chief scientist, Gill Pratt, warned that limited supplies of global lithium would push up the price of electric cars.

He argued that using limited lithium resources for smaller batteries in large numbers of hybrids lowers overall emissions faster than selling a handful of electric cars and leaving the rest with traditional engines.