Chinanews.com, April 4 (Zhongxin Finance Ge Cheng) Toyota, which has won the global automobile "sales championship" for three consecutive years, has not been able to catch the "free ride" of new energy "crazy", 20-year-old new president Tsuneji Sato has just taken office, and will face the problem of how to lead Toyota, a traditional car giant, to smoothly transform.

In 2022, Toyota's global sales of pure electric vehicles (EVs) were only 2,4 units, and in the same period, 536.5 million pure electric vehicles were sold in the Chinese market alone, a year-on-year growth rate of 81.6%.

In the process of the rapid development of pure electric vehicles in China, many well-known car companies have reaped "dividends", but Toyota has become a "passerby" with a weak sense of existence. Some insiders believe that the slow transformation of electrification has even become an important reason for Toyota's sales in China to "turn from rising to falling".

Data map: Some models of Toyota. Photo by Tong Yu

The new president proposes new goals

At present, Toyota is facing a "backwater battle" in China. The latest data released shows that in 2023, Toyota's sales in China will decline more and more rapidly. In March, Toyota sold 3,13 vehicles in China, down 64.18% year-on-year, and for the entire first quarter, Toyota sold 5,37 vehicles in China, down 98.14% year-on-year.

Although Toyota blamed the decline in sales in China in March, "Although it implemented (promotion) activities, it was affected by factors such as wait-and-see expectations for future economic stimulus policies." However, in the view of some industry insiders, the rapid growth of global pure electric vehicles has become a long-term trend, and accelerating the electrification process is the key to Toyota's reversal of the situation in China.

At the "New System Policy Explanation Meeting" held by Toyota recently, the new president of Toyota Motor Tsuneji Sato, who has just taken office, is clear about the importance of electrification transformation for Toyota. He stressed, "The current state of the automotive industry is a life-and-death situation, and the competition is very fierce. We want to think outside the framework and think outside of our existing concepts. ”

According to public information, Tsuneji Sato joined Toyota Motor Corporation in 1992, mainly engaged in the field of technology, and participated in the development of brand parts such as Corolla and Prius. Before replacing Akio Toyoda as president of Toyota, he was the global head of Lexus, a luxury brand owned by Toyota.

In response to the development of electric vehicles, Sato Tsuneji has put forward specific goals, and Toyota plans to launch 2026 new pure electric vehicles by 10, bringing its global annual sales to 150.4 million units. According to the release target, Toyota's sales scale of pure electric vehicles will increase by more than 60 times within four years.

These goals are considered to be Toyota's mid-term plans for electrification. In 2021, Akio Toyoda, then president of Toyota Motor Corporation, proposed an electrified vehicle policy of "selling 2030.350 million units and launching 30 models by <>" in order to respond to the growing electrification market.

However, putting forward such a goal does not mean that the pure electric technology route is the only option for Toyota. Tsuneji Sato stressed that Toyota will continue to promote its "comprehensive strategy" including hybrid vehicles (HVs), fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), and hydrogen diesel locomotives.

"Chaser" Toyota, how to break through?

At present, although the "2026 target" proposed by Tsuneji Sato is still a few years away, as a "catch-up", the specific plan at present is equally important. This is related to whether Toyota's pure electric vehicles can quickly get rid of the image of "passers-by" and achieve the goal of "increasing sales by more than 4 times within four years".

According to Toyota, it will launch two more locally developed pure electric vehicles in the Chinese market in 2024; The company manufactures a three-row SUV in the U.S. and enhances the performance of the bZ series in other developed countries.

In terms of specific models, according to Nikkei Chinese.com, Toyota's early models are the pure electric full-size SUV "Land Cooluzer" and the pure electric sedan Lexus "ES", and the above two models may start production around 2025.

In this regard, an industry insider analyzed Zhongxin Finance, "These are Toyota's models with higher prices and profits, and in the process of pure electric transformation, the cost of investment is higher, and the probability of loss will be lower." Toyota has continued its previous conservative style in formulating corresponding strategies. ”

He further pointed out that the development and change of pure electric vehicles is very rapid. While Toyota is further clarifying its policies, other automakers have begun to actively adjust their strategies.

On the one hand, traditional automakers such as Volkswagen, Ford and GM have invested heavily in the research and development and production of new energy vehicles; On the other hand, emerging automakers such as NIO, Xpeng, and Lili have brought a wealth of product choices to the market through technological innovation and unique design. This means that while Toyota is undergoing electrification, it will also be hit by both traditional automakers and "new automakers".

The above-mentioned industry insiders analyzed that at present, most of Toyota's pure electric models use the "oil to electricity" platform, and the technology is not in the "first echelon". Therefore, Toyota's target time for electrification plans is clearly a more pragmatic choice to focus on the corresponding nodes of the "carbon emissions" plans of major global economies such as China and the European Union.

For example, China has proposed that by 2025, new energy vehicle sales will reach about 20% of the total new vehicle sales; The EU27 will ban the sale of newly produced fuel cars and minivans from 2035; The U.S. has pushed hard to expand its electric vehicle market, proposing to reduce vehicle carbon emissions by 2032 percent by 56.

"Catching up now, Toyota still has a chance until these nodes arrive." The industry insider said. (End)