DRIVERS in the US will have to wait another year to get their hands on a Toyota EV after the brand announced a delay to its production schedule.
The Japanese giant has invested $1.3 billion in a new factory, which will now sit empty for several months as retailers try and drum up demand.
Toyota has delayed its EV production in the US by at least six months[/caption]
Bosses have now told North American showrooms not to expect delivery of its first electric models in 2025 as was originally scheduled, according to Nikkei Business Daily.
The cars will be made at a brand new factory in Kentucky as Toyota puts down roots in the States.
This will be supported by a new site in Indiana as well as greater output from the brand’s battery centre in North Carolina.
The plant is ready to go, but it will now be a while before anything rolls off the production line.
A more cautious schedule is reportedly down to some last-minute design tweaks and a general slowing in demand for EVs.
Rivals Tesla saw its first ever year-on-year decline in sales in 2024, while brands like Volvo, Ford and Stellantis have all revised their EV transition plans.
Now, Toyota’s first EVs will hit the US in 2026, at least several months after the originally planned release date.
Scott Vazing, a spokesperson for the carmaker, said: “We’ve always said it would be late 2025 and it could creep into 2026 and it does look like it’s going to creep into 2026.
“We’re still focused on our global target of 1.5 million [electric] vehicles by 2026.”
Reuters is reporting that this would see production pushed back to June 206, a delay of around six months, but no official date has been confirmed.
Nonetheless, Toyota still plans to go big on battery power once the factories do fire up.
The first model is set to be an electric seven or eight-seater, possible in the mould of the RAV4.
This is then expected to be followed by between five and seven new models released for the US market by the end of 2026.
The new lineup was previously meant to be joined by another electric SUV under the Lexus banner, which Toyota owns.
But this idea has now been abandoned, with the decision taken to simply import the vehicles after they are built in Japan.
It comes after Tesla was forced to recall 27,000 vehicles over a serious crash risk.
