How Toyota missed the EV boat. Or does slow & steady ultimately win the race?
The current Toyota EV offering [bZ4X] is lackluster in sales & reviews. in 2026 brings the EV C HR to market space. Specs still not available or reviews.
Meanwhile:
https://insideevs.com/news/755158/toyota-hybrid-demand-months-shortage/
Toyota’s Hybrids Are In High Demand. Too Bad Nobody Can Get One.
Some markets have a nine-month wait for Toyota hybrids.
demand increase has caused shortages of some key components necessary for hybrids. For example, Aisin—which supplies Toyota with components for its hybrid drivetrains—has run into a shortage of high-grade magnets. That means a bottleneck in rotors and stators used in its electric motors. Then there’s Denso, Toyota’s largest parts supplier. Downstream tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers have hit bottlenecks, slowing Denso’s output of inverters.
Here’s the kicker: Because the majority of these components are made or assembled in Japan before being shipped out to Toyota’s other global factories, a small hiccup in Nagoya means waves of delays reaching Detroit, New Delhi and beyond.
Rest assured that Toyota isn’t just sitting by the sidelines. The automaker is considering finding additional suppliers or, in some cases (according to Reuters ), looking into domestically manufacturing certain components in backlogged regions like India.
The above will take time though. Thus Toyota sales have slipped.
Though some IC models have exploded in sales.
The redesigned Toyota Tacoma is a smashing success as sales skyrocketed a staggering 188.2% in March to 23,949 units. The good news doesn’t end there as Tacoma sales are up 177.5% through the first three months of the year.
In fact, the Tacoma’s runaway success meant it was Toyota’s third best-selling vehicle last month. It was only beaten by the RAV4 (41,509) and Camry (29,661). Surprisingly, the mid-size pickup even outsold the ever popular Corolla (21,495), which begins at $22,325.
Toyota EV development slow but hybrid & IC demand still high.
Toyota vehicles known for quality & reliability. Toyota stumbled on first EV offering;. I expect the next one to be much better. But time has nearly run out for Toyota. BYD [China hybrid & EV manufacturer] has set their sights on Toyota:
https://electrek.co/2025/03/27/byd-more-money-than-toyota/
BYD thinks it can make more money than Toyota and it might be right