Toyota is eyeing electric car production in the US

Japanese media has learnt that Toyota wants to start producing electric cars in the USA in the summer of 2025. The company’s plant in Kentucky could churn out more than 10,000 electric SUVs per month by that time.

The news comes through the Japanese business newspaper Nikkei. The report does not mention any models or platforms. Still, it puts Toyota’s US production of up to 120,000 battery-electric cars per year in context with its target to make one million electric vehicles by 2026.

Nikkei also mentions current US policies that primarily require EVs to be made in North America to remain eligible for funding. In tandem with Toyota’s announced battery factory opening in North Carolina around 2025, the Kentucky factory could let Toyota make electric vehicles entirely in the US, from critical components to final assembly, says Nikkei.

A Toyota spokesperson would not confirm the report since the company had made no official statement but did not hard deny the Nikkei article either. The spokesperson did add that there was no decision yet on when Toyota would start producing electric cars in the US.

At the moment, Toyota is not expected to make any far-reaching strategic decisions but is busy preparing for a change in leadership as reported. Koji Sato will become Toyota’s new president and CEO on 1 April 2023, replacing Akio Toyoda in this role. Sato has been tasked with transitioning Toyota into a “mobility company”, but little more is known beyond that. Long-standing CEO Akio Toyoda had been criticised for focusing on hybrid cars and fuel cell vehicles instead of battery-electric drives for too long.

Rumours suggest that Toyota is currently revising its EV strategy in order to present a new three-year plan to its suppliers soon.

nikkei.com (paywall) via reuters.com