After years of resisting all-electric vehicles, Toyota announced Wednesday it plans to launch its first all-electric vehicle on the market in the United States later this year.
In a statement, Toyota said the three new models will include two battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) and one plug-in hybrid (PHEVs). The company, which, from 2020, was the best-selling car manufacturer in the world, also promoted the ecological impact of new vehicles, citing its belief that the “fastest way to reduce greenhouse gases in the transport sector is to offer drivers less carbon options that meet their needs. “
“We continue to be leaders in electrification that began with our pioneering introduction of the Prius nearly 25 years ago,” said Bob Carter, Toyota’s executive vice president of sales in North America. “Toyota’s new electrified product offerings will give customers a variety of powertrain options that best suit their needs.”
Although Toyota has long been one of the world’s pioneers of hybrid vehicles, especially for vehicles Prius, which debuted in Japan in 1997, has long been reluctant to be fully electric.
In a statement on Wednesday, the company defended its past decision to shun the all-electric system, saying its internal investigation initially found that total greenhouse gas emissions from all-electric and hybrid vehicles were “approximately same … pollutants created by the production of electricity for the average power grid in the United States that is used to charge batteries.
G / O Media may receive a commission
But the company’s decision to embrace the all-electric finally, along with the recent announcement by General Motors that it plans to launch 30 new global electric vehicles in 2025, is a good sign of where the wind blows these days.