Toyota’s bet on hybrid cars seems to be paying off as it rides consumer skepticism of an all-EV future to maintain its lead as the world’s top-selling automaker

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Toyota’s bet on hybrid cars seems to be paying off as it rides consumer skepticism of an all-EV future to maintain its lead as the world’s top-selling automaker

By Lionel Lim | Fortune Magazine | December 28, 2023

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Hybrid or battery electric vehicles? That debate has been heating up within the auto industry for the past few years. Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks hybrid vehicles are just a phase, while Toyota’s chairman and former CEO, Akio Toyoda, has long been skeptical of going all in on fully electric vehicles.  And so far, it seems that its skepticism of electric vehicles is working just fine for Toyota. The Japanese automaker’s latest monthly report showed it sold 322,463 hybrids in November, bringing its total hybrid sales for the year to 3.1 million, a 30% increase from the year prior.

Sales of Toyota’s battery electric vehicles increased this year as well: The automaker sold about 95,000 units, a fourfold increase from the previous year. But that figure represents only about 1% of Toyota’s total sales. Despite pledging $28 billion in 2021 to roll out 30 EV models by 2030, the Japanese firm may struggle to catch up with world’s two EV leaders. China’s BYD, for instance, sold just under 800,000 battery electric vehicles in the January to November period this year, and Tesla is projected to hit 1.82 million deliveries globally this year, according to analysts.  But it seems some consumers are looking for an alternative to an all-electric vehicle future.

While EV sales have been growing globally, the pace of growth has been slower in the United States. Americans bought a record number of hybrid vehicles this year, about a million so far, which is a 76% increase from last year, according to Edmunds. That’s something Toyota acknowledged in its monthly report, attributing the robust sales in North America to strong demand for hybrid vehicles such as the RAV4 and Corolla.

In Europe, Toyota said, “sales were up year on year” owing to strong sales of the Yaris, which include hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, and the RAV4 and Corolla. And sales in China for November grew 17% year on year even amid the rise of Chinese EV automakers and a general shift toward electric cars in that market. 

Toyota’s November figures also mean it’s probably keeping its title as the world’s bestselling automaker for the fourth consecutive year.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. Hybrid or battery electric vehicles? That debate has been heating up within the auto industry for the past few years. Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks hybrid vehicles are just a phase, while Toyota’s chairman and former CEO, Akio Toyoda, has long been skeptical of going all in on fully electric vehicles.  And so far, it seems that its skepticism of electric vehicles is working just fine for Toyota. The Japanese automaker’s latest monthly report showed it sold 322,463 hybrids in November, bringing its total hybrid sales for the year to 3.1 million, a 30% increase from the year prior.  
2. Sales of Toyota’s battery electric vehicles increased this year as well. But that figure represents only about 1% of Toyota’s total sales.
3. While EV sales have been growing globally, the pace of growth has been slower in the United States. Americans bought a record number of hybrid vehicles this year.  Sale of hybrid vehicels is also strong in Europe and China.

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Topics:  Automobiles, Toyota, Hybrid, Electric Cars