Toyota is considering selling locally designed and manufactured all-electric vehicle models in China, as it looks to expand its EV line-up and comply with Beijing’s upcoming new-energy vehicle (NEV) production and sales quotas. China has set strict quotas for electric and plug-in hybrid cars that come into effect from 2019. It has an ambitious target of 2 million NEV sales by 2020 and has signalled longer-term it will phase out the sale of conventional petrol-engine cars.
This shift towards NEVs has prompted a flurry of electric car deals and new launches as manufacturer’s worldwide race for a share of the world’s largest auto market.
Foreign car manufacturers are allowed to operate in China by forming joint ventures with Chinese partners. Toyota’s joint venture partners in the country are China FAW Group Corp and Guangzhou Automobile Group.
Apart from the all-electric battery car models developed by its local joint ventures, Toyota also plans to launch an EV model, designed in Japan, in China in 2020.
But the EV engineered in Japan would have to be produced in China to qualify for NEV credits, but it was not immediately clear whether Toyota planned to locally manufacture the EV.
When China’s green car quotas take effect in 2019, automakers will need to accumulate credits by producing and selling enough NEVs to hit a threshold equivalent to 10% of annual sales. That level would rise to 12% for 2020.
