Toyota To Rival Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors With Commercialized EVs

It appears that Toyota Motor Corporation is planning to position itself as a solid competitor against Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors. The Japanese automotive manufacturer just confirmed that it is forming an “in-house venture company,” which is going to focus on EVs.

The in-house company is forming next month, and it is expected to start developing battery-powered eco-cars right away. What’s good about having a streamlined company of just four people is that decision-making is remarkably faster, according to Auto News. This setup would also be beneficial for Toyota’s main goal of commercializing EVs at the start of the next decade.

“As a venture company that will specialize in its field and embrace speed in its approach to work, it is my hope that it will serve as a pulling force for innovation,” Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said in a statement. In a press release, the company echoed the same message of accelerated progress when it comes to manufacturing “fast-to-market products.”

Toyota is reportedly shifting its attention from producing fuel-cell cars onto commercializing electric vehicles since battery-powered vehicles are becoming more viable as mainstream cars in the global market, as per Auto Express. Toyota is said to be planning its entry into the EV market by launching an electric car that borrows its platform from the company’s famous Prius cars. Should this be the case, Toyota could save a lot of time and development costs.

Although Toyota has not spilled the beans on when consumers can expect its EVs to arrive, Japanese newspaper Nikkei is claiming that the company’s first electric car should launch by 2020. Auto Car has learned that Toyota’s first model could be designed to travel more than 186 miles with a single charge.

The in-house venture company is going to be made up of four members — each coming from a separate Toyota Group. Thus, one member is going to come from Toyota Motor, another from Toyota Industries Corp, while the other two are going to come from the Aisin Seiki Co. and Denso Corp.