Toyota plans to sell 3.5m electric vehicles annually by the end of decade

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles annually by the end of the decade, underscoring how serious the automaker is about rolling out products to compete with Tesla., Volkswagen and other global rivals.

The world’s biggest carmaker is also boosting its battery-based EV lineup with 30 available models, a step up from a prior plan to introduce 15 EVs globally by 2025, chief executive Akio Toyoda said at a briefing on Tuesday.

The targets reflect a more aggressive push into the electric arena by Toyota, which has for years questioned whether the world- outside of parts of the US and Europe - is truly ready for EVs. Toyota has been slower to release mass-market electric cars compared with European peers, choosing to invest in a wide range of emission-reducing vehicles from hybrids to hydrogen-powered cars. - Bloomberg