Toyota is considering phasing out purely gas-powered cars in the U.S., reasoning that purely gas-powered vehicles will soon represent a minority of sales for the automaker.
Toyota's chief scientist, Gill Pratt, states that carbon-neutral e-fuels are a sensible alternative. While Toyota stands firm against exclusively transitioning to pure electric vehicles, citing that costs and the necessary infrastructure still need many years or possibly decades to reach a level that can support widespread EV adoption, the automaker isn't keen on keeping gas-powered vehicles on sale forever either.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Pratt revealed that the automaker is currently deciding whether to eliminate pure gas powertrains from its lineup in the U.S., which would leave customers to choose only hybrid (and plug-in hybrid), electric, or fuel cell vehicles. Pratt mentioned, "In the U.S, there is a decision being made now—and I’m not a part of it—as to whether to stop making pure ICE for the U.S. market.
Just the fact that we’re thinking of that means that, OK, it must be close." In September, sales of electrified vehicles represented about 48% of Toyota's total. Just two years ago, they accounted for less than 20%. If this trend continues, vehicles powered purely by a gas powertrain will soon be a minority at Toyota, the world's largest automaker by volume.
Toyota booked record profit in the last financial year thanks to strong demand for hybrids, although the automaker is also committed to adding more EVs to its lineup. Last year, Toyota stated it plans to offer 10 EVs by the end of 2026 for both the Toyota and Lexus brands, after which the automaker will introduce next-generation EVs delivering much more range. However, some of those EVs may be delayed.
The Nikkei reported on Thursday that the start of production of an electric three-row SUV at Toyota's plant in Kentucky has been pushed back from 2025 to 2026. The publication also reported that Toyota has canceled plans to start production of new Lexus electric SUVs in the U.S. by 2030, opting instead to ship those vehicles from Japan.
The strong demand for EVs means that many automakers that pledged to move exclusively to selling EVs by the end of the decade are now backtracking on those plans, including strong EV advocates such as Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. In his interview with Bloomberg, Pratt also praised the development of carbon-neutral e-fuels, such as those already being generated by Porsche at a pilot plant in Chile.
While he acknowledged the loss of energy during the production process, he stated that e-fuels are a good solution for the storage and transport of excess energy generated by renewable sources. He also mentioned that e-fuels could be used to reduce emissions from the existing global fleet of gas and diesel vehicles, which numbers more than a billion.
