Oct 3 (Askume) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will delay the start of North American electric car production until the first half of 2026 due to design changes and slow electric vehicle sales, the Nikkei business daily said on Thursday.
The Japanese automaker recently told suppliers that the start of production of its first battery-electric model, a three-row SUV, at its Kentucky plant in the United States would be delayed by several months, Nikkei reported.
Production is now likely to begin in early 2026 rather than late next year, Toyota spokesman Scott Vazin said.
“We’ve been saying it will be the end of 2025, it could be 2026, and it looks like it will be 2026,” Vazin said.
He said Toyota plans to launch five to seven pure electric vehicles in the United States in the next two years.
Supply disruptions and governance issues have forced Toyota to delay US electric vehicle production by six months to around June 2026, sources previously told Askume .
The automaker had aimed to produce electric SUVs under its luxury Lexus brand in North America by 2030, but it has abandoned that plan and will instead ship finished vehicles from Japan to the United States, Nikkei reported on Thursday.
In February, Toyota invested $1.3 billion in electrification efforts at its Kentucky plant .
