Toyota is attempting an EV revival with an eye toward Tesla

Four people with knowledge of the still-evolving plans said Toyota is exploring a revamp of its electric-car strategy to better compete in a rising sector it has been reluctant to enter and has suspended some work on existing EV projects.

If implemented, the under consideration plans would represent a significant change for Toyota and rewrite the $38 billion EV rollout plan the Japanese automaker outlined last year in order to better compete with Tesla and other EV manufacturers.

The four people said Toyota has given a working group the task of defining ideas for upgrades to its current EV platform or for a new architecture by the beginning of the next year.

The Toyota Compact Cruiser crossover and the battery-electric Crown are among the 30 EV projects that Toyota revealed in December that have been put on hold, according to sources and a document examined by Reuters.

Although Toyota declared it was dedicated to carbon neutrality, it would not discuss any specific programmes.

In response to inquiries from Reuters, the company stated that its own technology as well as the work being done with a variety of partners and suppliers is crucial to achieving carbon neutrality.

Due to the fact that the intentions have not been made public, the four sources declined to be named.

The redesign under discussion might delay the introduction of EVs already in the works. However, when industry-wide EV sales surpass Toyota's initial forecasts, it would also provide the company a chance to compete with a more effective manufacturing method.

Additionally, it would respond to criticism from environmental organisations and green investors who claim that Toyota, once a favourite of environmentalists, has been too sluggish to adopt EVs.

Toyota is taking into consideration an upgrade to its 2019-released e-TNGA EV-basing technology as part of the evaluation. The people said that Toyota will be able to reduce costs as a result.

The bZ4X crossover, the first EV built on the e-TNGA platform, was released earlier this year, but Toyota was forced to halt production as a result of a recall, which delayed the launch. This month, production has started up again.

THE BENCHMARK IS TESLA

The realisation by some Toyota engineers and executives that Toyota was losing the factory cost war to Tesla on EVs, according to the sources, was one element that led to the review.

According to the four people, Toyota had planned on EV demand not picking up for several decades.