Capital Economy, Business and Finance
Toyota’s multi-decade bet on hybrids is paying off. As EV sales slow down, those of new hybrids have surged past expectations, leading to a very rosy outlook for Toyota’s full-year profits in 2024. Last year the world’s biggest car company by volume sold a record 11.3 million vehicles to booming markets, especially in the US and Europe. Toyota’s CFO said yesterday that hybrid sales are up “in all regions”; a stark contrast to the world of EVs. Recent EV casualties include the UK arm of the Hyundai-backed Arrival — a firm previously focused on electric vans, buses and taxis — which fell into administration this week. Elsewhere, Hertz paused plans to buy 100,000 cars from Polestar, days after Volvo announced it was to stop funding the Chinese-owned EV brand. UK figures unveiled by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed a surge in sales of plug-in hybrids, higher than the rise of battery-only vehicles. Toyota has consistently preached the hybrid-over-EV gospel in the face of scepticism from rivals and ridicule from Elon Musk. And why not? It turns out range anxiety is real, and hybrids deal with it.