Toyota shares soar following unveiling of new EV tech
Toyota saw its shares bump up on Tuesday following the unveiling of a host of new EV-related technologies from 2026, which it said will help cut costs and regain competitiveness in the global transition towards electric vehicles.
Following the announcement on Tuesday morning, company shares surged five per cent.
Toyota said that the new “next generation” EV and battery technologies would include longer range batteries with shortened charging times and increased durability, and that the firm had planned a major redesign of many of its factories.
Takero Kato, president of the company’s new unit dedicated to EVs, announced that Toyota’s goal was to “change the future of EVs.”
He added that new developments would help “contribute to reducing costs for vehicle development and plant investments,” and reaffirmed the company’s 2025 goal of 1.5m EV sales.
Unveiled at its Let’s Change the Future of Cars briefing, the plans come as part of the Japanese-firms attempts to claw back ground in the EV transition, after falling behind competitors for many years.
In 2021, the Tokyo-based automaker pledged that it would inject $35bn (£27.76bn) by 2030 into its electric push, but the company has faced numerous issues since then, including a mass recall of its first widely-produced electric vehicle – the bZ4X – due to safety concerns.
In January, Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda announced that he would step down as head of the firm to become chair, and was replaced by Koji Sato, amid an overhaul of its EV strategy.
Toyota said today that a key pillar of its new car manufacturing plans would be based on “safety and security without compromise.”
A tense annual shareholder meeting is expected tomorrow, in which the company will face a governance challenge, following recommendations from proxy advisors to vote against the reappointment of Toyoda as a director.
Toyoda’s EV policy is also expected to come under the limelight.