Introducing Toyota, the Electric Vehicle Giant that Keeps Climbing Higher
Toyota is taking significant strides in the fast-evolving electric vehicle market. Is this Japanese powerhouse adapting to the current trends, or is it at the forefront of innovation? Here’s what you should be aware of.
You probably don't think of Toyota Motor (TM -3.92%) as a maker of electric vehicles (EVs). The Japanese automaker has been a dominant force in traditional gas cars for nearly a century. Toyota was a pioneer in hybrid vehicles, and the Prius is still a big seller after 27 years on the global market.
Toyota's impressive surge in electric vehicle sales
Times are definitely shifting. In 2024, electrified vehicles made up 45% of Toyota's overall sales. While car sales experienced a 4.2% increase last year, EV sales skyrocketed with a remarkable 56% surge. In summary, Toyota continues to be a powerful force in the automotive industry, but it is rapidly transitioning its offerings to electric vehicles.
It's not solely focused on hybrids, whether they come with plug-in charging capabilities or not. Among Toyota's rapidly expanding luxury offerings in 2024 is the Lexus RZ, an all-electric SUV priced from $44,000. Sales for this model surged from 5,386 units in 2023 to 9,697 units in 2024, marking a remarkable 79% increase. On the more accessible market front, the Toyota bZ4X, starting at $37,000, saw its sales nearly double, climbing from 9,329 to 18,570 units.
Although these figures lag significantly behind the highly popular models such as the Toyota RAV4, which saw an 8.5% increase to 475,193 units, and the Camry, which grew by 5.9% to 309,876 units, all-electric vehicles are rapidly closing the gap.
RAV4 and Camry, take note: All-electric Toyotas are gaining ground.
The car market is going electric, and Toyota is embracing the new market with great success. Smaller rival Honda Motor (HMC -3.74%) is planning to merge with Nissan Motor (OTC: NSAN.Y), perhaps including Mitsubishi in a three-part combination of Japanese car marques, largely because they want to catch up with Toyota's hybrid-based leadership.
At the same time, the whole EV market relies on rapid expansion of charging networks. I recently found out first-hand that there's work to do on that front. A recently updated Fool research report shows that my home state of Florida has 3,605 public charging stations and 11,098 ports -- the third-largest port count in the country.
Yet, a
