Toyota's China pivot: aiming for 200,000+ EV sales

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🗞️ Driving the news: Toyota's new CEO, Koji Sato, announces plans to accelerate the company's electric vehicle (EV) push in China, aiming to increase global sales of battery-powered vehicles from 38,000 units last year to 200,000+ units

• The move comes amid a decline in sales for Japanese automakers in China due to a slow rollout of battery-powered vehicles

🌎 Why it matters for the planet: Toyota's aggressive push into EVs in the world's largest car market may help it regain market share and maintain its lead in an industry rapidly shifting to electric vehicles

🔭 The context: Toyota has faced criticism for opposing an "all-in" approach to EVs, arguing that a dramatic shift to electric vehicles could result in environmental pollution rather than environmental benefits if energy is sourced from fossil fuels

⏭️ What's next: Toyota plans to produce a record number of vehicles for the fiscal year to March 2024 (11.4mn units vs 10.6mn in FY23) as it addresses semiconductor component shortages and focuses on both EVs and hybrids in China

📈 One stat: Toyota's 2022 vehicle sales in China, where it holds approximately a 9% market share, fell for the first time in a decade

⛏️ To dig deeper: Check-out the latest forecasts from the IEA (EVs will account for one in five car sold in 2023)