Toyota Europe CEO Johan van Zyl said a decision
hasn’t been made regarding the model, but it will probably be an SUV or a van,
as those are the most responsive sectors to the electric technology.
“The price point [for an EV] will be high,
therefore, you will see them in SUVs. They will also be much appreciated in a
van-type vehicle in cities if they expand their zero-emissions zones,” van Zyl
was quoted as saying by Autonews Europe at the Geneva Motor Show. “We would like to have something in place by
2021,” he added.
The automaker has so far resisted selling an
electric vehicle in Europe, as EVs are far less profitable than hybrids, which
the automaker sells in high numbers in the region. This year, for example,
Toyota forecasts hybrids will make up half of its sales in Europe, and by 2021 that number will
rise to 60 percent. Even so, it plans to sell 10 EVs globally by the early
2020s.
Toyota has already announced it would sell its first
mass-produced electric car, the C-HR EV, in China starting next year. It would make sense
to bring the SUV in Europe as well, although van Zyl commented that “it’s
something that can be looked at”.
