Toyota May Start Mass Producing Electric Vehicles In China As Early As 2019

Toyota could start mass production of electric cars in China as early as 2019, according to Nikkei. China is planning to set production quotas for “new energy cars” next year, and Toyota is planning to meet the goal.

Read: Summer Olympics 2020 News: Toyota-Backed Flying Car Could Light Torch In Tokyo For Opening Ceremony

In 2012, Toyota launched the RAV4 EV, an electric SUV that runs on lithium-ion batteries from Tesla. However, only 2,500 units of the models were sold, leading the Japanese automaker to cut back. Now, as other companies pledge to sell EVs, Toyota is interested in mass production of electric cars again.

The automaker's model will be based on the C-HR sport utility vehicle, Reuters reported, citing a report from Asahi. The car will be produced for only the Chinese market, and the production’s pace will be determined after considering regulations and subsidies. Toyota will reportedly have an annual output that will begin with more than a several thousand units.

"We are going to introduce EVs in China with a few years,” Toyota spokesman Ryo Sakai said. “However, we don't talk about any future product plans."

As China and other markets implement stricter environmental rules, the Chinese are asking auto companies to make sure they produce and sell a certain number of vehicles, including electric, fuel-cell and plug-in hybrid cars. Toyota is being urged to jump in with the program by 2020, according to Nikkei. Late last year, the automaker and some of its group companies launched a startup to create electric cars.

Read: Volvo To Build Its First Fully Electric Car In China; All Volvo Cars Will Be Electric Or Hybrid From 2019

Toyota’s news follows Volvo’s announcement earlier this month in which it said it will offer only electric or hybrid versions of its new models starting 2019. The automaker will produce its first fully electric car in China based on its smaller car models. The vehicle is set to be available for sale in 2019 and will be exported globally.

Volvo will release five fully electric and hybrid models between 2019 and 2021, and has set a goal of selling 1 million electric cars by 2025. The automaker will offer the electric and hybrid cars in three categories: fully electric, plug-in hybrid (twin engine) and mild hybrid (48 volts).

Toyota Flying Car

Besides electric cars, Toyota is looking into flying cars. The company will invest about 40 million yen ($352,982) in the flying car project Skydrive, led by a group called Cartivator.

Cartivator plans to build a prototype for a manned test flight as soon as the end of 2018. The group plans to commercialize a flying car in 2020, the year Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics. Cartivator says it wants the airborne vehicle to light the Tokyo Olympic flame stand.

Toyota’s flying car interest follows other companies’ plans, including Uber, Airbus’s Pop.Up concept, Lilium Jet and Google’s Kitty Hawk project.