Toyota to roll out an electric vehicle in China by 2020



With China reportedly looking to ban the production and sale of petrol-powered cars, the most online-searched car brand in the world, Toyota, has just announced that it will be rolling out an electric vehicle under the Toyota brand for the Chinese market by 2020.

Toyota has developed China-made hybrid units for years now and aims to sell around 100,000 units of the Corolla Hybrid and Levin Hybrid models in 2017, with both featuring domestically-produced hybrid units.

Zotye’s Porsche Macan lookalike – the SR8 SUV

In addition, development of plug-in hybrid Corollas and Levins are underway in preparation for their rollout. “We will use the technology we have nurtured in hybrid electrification to carry out extensive development of new energy vehicles as required by China,” said Senior Managing Officer and CEO of the China Region, Hiroji Onishi.

Toyota wouldn’t be the only be the only latching on this increasing lucrative prospect. Ford and Zotye, the brand behind the Porsche Macan clone, have hit the ground running in a new joint venture to build electric cars in China. Zotye themselves already have a hybrid model in their inventory in the form of a 2.0-litre Macan lookalike while Volvo, now fully owned by Zhejian Geely, has announced its first electric car will be made in China.