The world’s biggest carmaker, Toyota, is doubling down on hybrids and making smaller combustible engines that can use cleaner biofuels and hydrogen to cut carbon emissions.
The Japanese automaker’s CEO, Koji Sato, unveiled prototypes of these engines yesterday. Subaru and Mazda heads also joined him and vowed to develop these engines to make more efficient and eco-friendly cars.
While several car companies thought the future would be all-electric, Toyota has been focusing on vehicles that run on cleaner fuels but are also compatible with electric motors in hybrid cars, keeping in line with its “multi-pathway” approach.
The company believes that EVs are important, but there’s still a place for better combustion engines to help reduce emissions.
Former CEO Akio Toyoda was skeptical about a fully electric future and predicted that EVs would only make up about 30% of car sales.
His view received criticism, but the recent slowdown in EV sales proves he may have been right. Companies like GM, Ford and Tesla have lowered their EV sales targets.
Over last year, Toyota hybrid sales jumped 32% to 3.59 million units. The company recently reported an annual operating profit of $32 billion (5 trillion yen).
Meanwhile, hybrid sales in the US surged over 50% last year. Subsequently, Toyota’s profits have soared, and its stock price has risen by 20% since January.