Toyota Cuts EV Production Plans for 2026

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) has slashed its electric vehicle production plans for 2026 by a third, according to the Nikkei business daily. This move makes Toyota the latest automaker to roll back electric car plans as EV sales momentum wanes.

The world’s biggest automaker now plans to produce 1 million EVs in 2026, down from its previously announced sales target of 1.5 million.

Toyota stated that there is no change to its intention to produce 1.5 million EVs annually by 2026 and 3.5 million by 2030. However, the company clarified that these figures are not targets but rather benchmarks for shareholders.

Producing even 1 million electric vehicles per year represents an ambitious undertaking for Toyota, which has focused more on developing hybrids and sold only about 104,000 EVs last year. Currently, EVs account for about 1% of its global sales.

Earlier this week, Volvo (OTC:VLVLY) announced it scrapped its target of going all electric by 2030, opting to still offer hybrid models in its lineup at that time.

In the U.S., Ford (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and other car manufacturers have delayed or canceled new electric models to avoid heavy investments in vehicles that consumers are not purchasing as quickly as anticipated.