In a radical rethink of its future strategy, Toyota has announced that it will now focus on developing and building electric vehicles.
Previously, the manufacturer said that it would work primarily on developing hydrogen-fuelled vehicles like the Mirai, with an aim to completely eliminating petrol and diesel cars from its range by 2050.
Electric power would not be sustainable given the high price of rechargeable batteries and lengthy charging times Toyota said, but according to a new report it’s now ready to do an about-face.
Japanese business newspaper The Nikkei reports that Toyota will start to build its first long-range pure electric vehicle next year, with the car due to go on sale by 2020.
First pure electric Toyota on sale by 2020?
The manufacturer has neither confirmed nor denied the report, but stated that it is continually developing new fuel-efficient technologies, including electric vehicle technology.
Toyota will continue to promote hydrogen power as the most sensible option for the future, given that cars like the Mirai have similar range to petrol and diesel cars and are as quick and easy to fill.
However, the lack of hydrogen refuelling stations poses a major hurdle, and it’s possible that a range of electric cars could serve as a stop-gap while the infrastructure for hydrogen is built.