Toyota expects 13% rise in annual vehicle output amid higher green ambitions

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. expects to produce 9.7 million vehicles for the year ending March 31, 2023, up 13.2% year on year from the 8.57 million vehicles, the company said May 11, aided by higher sales of “green” vehicles.

Region-wise, 3 million vehicles will be made in Japan against 2.76 million vehicles the year before, while 6.7 million vehicles will be manufactured overseas versus 5.81 million vehicles the prior year.

The bullish forecast rides on a higher annual sales projection of 10.7 million vehicles, up 3.1% on the year from 10.38 million vehicles the previous year. Both annual projections are based on its Toyota and Lexus brands.

For its annual sales forecast, Toyota plans to increase the share attributed to environmentally friendly vehicles to 31% of overall sales from 28.4% the year before, consisting of hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), battery (BEV) and fuel-cell (FCEV) electric vehicles.

Toyota expects its sales of HEVs to form the bulk of its annual “green” vehicle sales, at 2.85 million units, up 10.9% from the year ended March 31, 2022. Percentage wise, the biggest hike will come from its BEV sales, projected at 95,000 units, a nearly six-fold increase from 16,000 units the year before. By 2030, Toyota aims to have “green” vehicle sales of 8 million units.

Toyota is increasing its presence in the EV market. On April 29, its subsidiary, Toyota Motor Thailand, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Thai Excise Department to participate in a program for EVs.

Under the MoU, Toyota will be granted subsidy and tax incentives from distributing a BEV model, namely Toyota’s bZ4X BEV, which will be launched in Japan May 12. Similar agreements have been signed with Great Wall Motor Manufacturing (Thailand) and MG Sales (Thailand).

To achieve its goals, Toyota will spend $13.6 billion on battery technology, especially solid-state batteries, which will increase its demand for nickel and lithium.

— Clement Choo