Toyota weighs hybrid only lineups after sales surge

With its increasing focus on hybrids, Toyota may become one of the first automakers to abandon exclusively internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, although it won’t be making the switch to fully electric models anytime soon.

Driving the news: In speaking to Reuters, two Toyota executives said the car brand was investigating the possibility of making its products hybrid-only.

• “Going forward, we plan to evaluate, carline by carline, whether going all-hybrid makes sense,” said David Christ, Toyota North America Head of Sales and Marketing.

• Several entries for the U.S. market have already ditched their fully ICE versions. Those include the Camry, Land Cruiser and Sienna.

• The automaker will decide which vehicles to offer as hybrid-only during the model redesign process.

Zooming in: This confidence in hybrids might sound surprising for Toyota, whose leadership has remained steadfastly pessimistic toward the electric vehicle market. It makes sense, however, given the brand's recent sales successes.

• Even though Toyota’s sales declined in the first half of 2024, its hybrid lineup performed outstandingly well.

• The automaker sold roughly 473,000 hybrids in the U.S. from January through June, up 57.2% year-over-year.

• This increase arrived in spite of a series of safety scandals that have hampered its momentum in multiple markets.

Bottom line: As Toyota continues making redesigns, it’s possible we might see it become the world’s first hybrid-only automaker. But making that leap depends entirely on the EV market’s growth and how quickly it can exit its current plateau.

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