Toyota Motor North America’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Mark Templin, has made a big claim, stating the company is working on creating electric vehicles that turn out to be “Tesla killers.”
Tesla has ruled the EV market for a long time, and there has been no brand thus far that could knock it off the throne. Now though, Toyota may have produced EVs that can actually take on Tesla.
At present, Toyota’s share in the U.S. EV market is less than 2%, and the automaker aims to increase its share to 15%. Just recently, Toyota invested $1 billion between its Kentucky and Indiana plants.
According to a report by The Detroit News, the Georgetown, Kentucky, plant is set to receive $800 million to modernize assembly lines and increase production of the all-electric Highlander SUV, which will be Toyota’s first American-made EV.
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The car is set for launch in late 2026, while another EV, yet to be announced, is still in the pipeline, marking Toyota’s commitment to expanding its EV lineup.
Speaking to The Detroit News, Templin answered some questions about Toyota’s plans for the future. The company’s EV lineup is projected to expand from two to over six models by this year’s end. When asked if this was the right time to introduce new models, the Toyota boss said:
“We really believe in the portfolio approach to this. That’s what we’ve been preaching since the beginning, and we know there’s always going to be a place for gas engines, because we’re a global automaker, and we do business almost everywhere.
“There are a couple billion people on the planet who live without electricity. They can’t drive electric cars. We know that. So their gas engines are going to be around for a long time. Hybrids are going to be around for a long time. Plug-in hybrids are going to be around for a long time. But there’s a growing interest in BEVs.
“People who have bought BEVs, a high percentage of them, want to stay in BEVs. So we believe that we’re coming to the market at a time when there’s going to be a demand — because those people bought up something, and they bought it because they didn’t have a lot of choice (in BEV options). Now we’re going to provide them choice.”
Asked if Toyota will ever be the top EV seller in the U.S., he said:
“Our goal is to, say, if we have 15% market share in all the market, why can’t we also have 15% of the BEV market? That’s what we’re shooting for. We’re trying to jumpstart our reputation for having great BEVs. We need to get people in our cars right now.
“Our dealers are excited about the BEVs we’re bringing to market. I was just in Japan driving some future BEVs, and they’re freaking fantastic cars. And I call them Tesla killers, because now you have all these Tesla customers who love to drive electric cars — they want a real car. And they’re going to get in a real car.”
