TOYOTA JUST PICKED A WINNER IN THE EV SLOWDOWN—AND IT’S NOT FULL ELECTRIC

Toyota Motor Corp. is set to increase its hybrid vehicle production by 30% by 2028. The move comes as the global shift toward electric vehicles has progressed more slowly than expected, fueling renewed demand for hybrid models.

The Japanese automaker plans to ramp up production from 5 million units this year to approximately 6.7 million units. Overall vehicle output is projected to rise by about 10%, reaching 11.3 million units. As a result, hybrids are expected to account for 60% of Toyota’s lineup, up from the current 50%.

Hybrid vehicles, which combine an internal combustion engine with an electric motor and battery, deliver significantly better fuel efficiency than conventional gasoline-powered cars. As enthusiasm for battery-electric vehicles fades amid reduced subsidies, hybrids are emerging as an increasingly attractive alternative. Toyota continued to dominate the global hybrid market, holding a 58% share as of late 2025.

Toyota also plans to invest 1.5 trillion JPY (10.05 billion USD) in the United States over the next five years. Of that amount, 140 billion JPY (938 million USD) will be allocated to producing hybrid engines and key components at five U.S. plants.

GlobalData forecasts that global sales of hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles will reach 29 million units by 2030, an increase of 2.8 million units from previous projections.

As demand for battery-electric vehicles slows sharply, automakers are scaling back or postponing EV projects while boosting production of internal combustion engine vehicles. Ford Motor Co. has announced cuts and delays to major EV initiatives, while General Motors is restructuring its EV business and partnering with Hyundai Motor Co. to produce hybrid vehicles.

In Europe, Volkswagen has recently unveiled a full hybrid system similar to the Prius. Meanwhile, Tesla is discontinuing the Model S and Model X and repurposing its California production line to manufacture humanoid robots.

Despite these shifts across the industry, GlobalData still predicts that electric vehicles will account for 29% of global car sales by 2030.

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2026-02-06T06:22:17Z