Toyota Unveiling Two Electric, One Hybrid For 2022 Model Year

The electric car market in the U.S. continues to grow. On Wednesday, Toyota announced it will introduce two new battery-powered cars and a plug-in hybrid later this year.

Toyota did not provide specifics on the new vehicles but said one would be an SUV, according to the Associated Press. They will go on sale in 2022.

Another gas-hybrid plug-in vehicle offering differs from other manufacturers but fits the company profile.

Toyota advocates diversity of electric vehicles to cut down on carbon emissions.

That differs from President Joe Biden's policy positions. Last month, Biden signed an executive order requiring the entire federal fleet replaced with U.S.-built electric vehicles. Biden's plan involves replacing almost 650,000 cars, vans and trucks.

Toyota was a pioneer in gas-electric hybrid cars. It claims its research indicates hybrids can be as clean and are less expensive than battery-only models.

The automaker also points out the mining of lithium is necessary for battery production and mining is a polluting activity. Toyota said in 2017 that it planned to market more than 10 electric vehicles by the early part of this decade.

"We believe the fastest way to lower greenhouse gases in the transportation sector is to offer drivers lower carbon choices that meet their needs," said Toyota's chief scientist Gill Pratt.

General Motors is planning to have only battery-powered light vehicles by 2035 and rolled out a plan to invest $27 billion to develop 30 new models of EVs by 2025, with two-thirds available in the U.S.

GM purchased advertising time during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast to promote its shift to electric vehicles.

Fully electric models made up less than 2% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2020. The Biden administration is also committed to adding 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country.