Toyota is moving forward with its rollout of plug-in hybrid vehicles across the UK and the world even after the rapid increase in the number of electric cars being produced by other manufacturers.
The brand has been headstrong with its support for hybrid cars, bucking the trend of other manufacturers moving forward with the development of electric vehicles.
Toyota boss Akio Toyoda said the brand made one of the most important steps by helping to introduce hybrids to the wider market and make the technology a success.
He added that the brand would be unable to supply vehicles to all regions of the world.
Toyota has continued to move forward with hybrid vehicles
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This means that a single, electric option would be out of consideration for the brand, which wants to appeal to the widest audience possible.
The chairman of Toyota added: “Customers – not regulations or politics – should make that decision.
“Engines will surely remain,” the 67-year-old said at a business event at the beginning of January.
Data from Toyota found that a third of vehicles sold by the brand last year were hybrids, while less than one per cent of sales were electric.
The new Toyota Yaris hybrid
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In the last month alone, Toyota has presented the all-new C-HR plug-in hybrid, the new Yaris hybrid and a range update and price for UK sales of the Prius plug-in.
Recent research found that one in four drivers will purchase a hybrid vehicle next, despite the upcoming ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2035.
The data, from Close Brother Motor Finance, found that the majority of drivers wanted to wait before buying an alternative fuel vehicle.
According to CNN, Toyota has been “lobbying governments around the world” to keep hybrids on the road, noting how the company had not been entirely supportive of schemes like Zero Emission Vehicle mandates.
Toyota said it “shared the objective of reducing carbon as much as possible, as soon as possible”, CNN reported.
While Toyota has massively supported hybrid technology, it has not completely alienated the development of electric vehicles.
Currently, Toyota only sells one electric vehicle, the bZ4X, which retails for £42,860, has a range of up to 318 miles and charges from 10 to 80 per cent in 32 minutes.
The Japanese manufacturer has also pushed ahead with new solid-state batteries, which could see electric cars charge in just 10 minutes and have an impressive range of 745 miles.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The all-new Toyota Prius Plug-in
TOYOTA
Electric vehicle experts are hoping that cars powered by solid-state batteries could hit the market within the coming years and become more widespread by the end of the decade.
The estimated range of 1,200km would be more than twice the range of Toyota’s current electric car range.
However, there are a handful of issues when developing these batteries, most notably the layers of material inside which need to be stacked quickly and with high precision.
