Toyota is launching three electrified vehicles in the US this year
Toyota is launching three electrified vehicles in the US this year
Two are fully electric, while one is a plug-in hybrid.
Toyota has revealed that it’s debuting three electrified versions of its vehicles in the US this year. While the automaker didn’t name the models of the vehicles it’s launching, it did say that two of them are fully electric, while the other is a plug-in hybrid. It’s a step towards one of the company’s goals, which is for 40 percent of all new vehicles sales to be made up of electrified models by 2025. The automaker is also aiming to sell electrified Toyota and Lexus (its luxury brand) models around the world in the same year.
Back in December, the company teased a new all-electric EV coming out this year in the European market. It’s around the size of a RAV4 or a Forester and is based on its upcoming e-TNGA platform, which will serve as the modular architecture for its electric vehicles. Toyota didn’t say whether that same vehicle is one of the three, but it’s worth noting that the model in the right photo looks like the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid it launched last year.
In its announcement, Toyota also shared some results from an internal research evaluating the environmental impact between a full-electric and a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The company found that the greenhouse gas emissions of currently available full-electric and plug-in models are roughly the same when you factor in pollutants created by electricity production. Also, the production of plug-ins may even generate less greenhouse gases, since they typically have smaller batteries.
“The key point is that a BEV and PHEV can provide similar environmental benefits,” the company wrote. By having a diversified product portfolio with multiple forms of vehicle electrification, Toyota can let consumers choose the model that best suits their usage needs and cost profile while maximizing the total contribution to GHG reduction.”
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