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Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda's bet on hybrids over EVs is paying off. Yoshikazu Tsuno—
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‘A strength of Toyota’
But it turns out he was onto something. This week, the carmaker
raised its operating profit guidance by nearly 9% for the fiscal year
ending March 31, crediting higher sales of hybrid vehicles across all
its major markets.
With hybrids alone, Toyota sold roughly 3.4 million vehicles globally
last year, up from 2.6 million in 2022. Tesla, by contrast, sold 1.8
million vehicles, all of them electric. In total, Toyota sold 11.2 million
vehicles, allowing it to retain its crown as the top-selling carmaker
for the fourth consecutive year.
For drivers, hybrids have the feel-good factor of burning less fossil
fuel than normal cars—friendlier on the environment and the
pocketbook—without the range anxiety, charging issues, and resale
value of EVs. (Hybrids maximize efficiency by alternating from gas
to battery power.) It also helps that in the U.S. hybrids are priced
closer to regular vehicles than are EVs.
“If consumer adoption of BEVs shifts again and speeds up, Toyota
may not be fully ready,” Stephanie Brinley, an associate director at
S&P Global Mobility, told Reuters.
But none of that stopped Toyoda from doubling down on his once-
unpopular stance last month, as he estimated that EVs will peak at
30% and share the roads with hybrid, traditional, and hydrogen-
powered cars.
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