- The China-built model is expected to combine electric drive with a gasoline engine that acts as a generator rather than directly powering the wheels.
- Toyota reportedly plans to ramp up production to around 400,000 extended-range electric vehicles in 2028 as it expands its electrified lineup in China.
- EREVs are gaining traction in China, where Toyota's hydrogen partner BMW could also launch its own extended-range EV.
Toyota was late to the battery-electric party, and now it's apparently arriving late to the range-extender EV party, too. Better late than never, right? The Japanese giant is reportedly preparing its first extended-range electric vehicle for China, with production expected to begin next year.
According to a fresh report from Nikkei Asia, Toyota plans to start building an extended-range EV in China in April 2027. Production could initially amount to only a few hundred vehicles per month, but the company reportedly wants to ramp up output to around 200,000 units during 2027 and approximately 400,000 in 2028.
Unlike a conventional hybrid, an extended-range EV uses an electric motor to drive the wheels while a combustion engine acts as a generator. The engine doesn't mechanically power the wheels, allowing the car to operate like an EV for everyday driving while providing a gasoline-powered backup when the battery needs more juice. Launched this week in the United States, the 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid is the latest example of an EREV.
Better Late Than Never?
It's a formula that has become increasingly popular in China. Toyota, meanwhile, has spent decades perfecting conventional hybrids. That's the funny part. The company was arguably better positioned than most to develop a range-extender system. Yet, it has waited until now to enter a segment that's already well established in its most important target market.
The range-extender move gives Toyota another way to appeal to customers who aren't ready to make the jump to a pure EV. Electric motors do the actual driving, but a combustion engine still runs longer trips. For buyers worried about charging outside major cities, that's a compelling middle ground.
Made In China
Toyota apparently plans to make the new EREV in China rather than simply importing an existing global model. That makes sense given how quickly the technology has evolved there. The company is essentially entering an established market with a product tailored to local tastes rather than trying to impose a global formula on Chinese buyers.
Toyota isn’t the only big name interested in selling EREVs in China. Although nothing is confirmed, BMW is reportedly bringing back the technology it used more than a decade ago in the i3 oddball hatchback. The new long-wheelbase iX5 for the local market is rumored to receive the EREV treatment, and so could next year’s second-generation X7.
Toyota and BMW are connected because they're working together on a different type of EV tech: hydrogen fuel cells.
Motor1's Take: Toyota's famously conservative approach to electrification means the company has spent a lot of time watching the industry experiment before committing. For decades, that strategy worked wonders with hybrids, but the EV revolution has moved considerably faster. Now Toyota is playing catch-up with battery EVs and, apparently, with range extenders as well.
Still, if Toyota can combine its hybrid know-how with the electric-drive characteristics customers increasingly want, its late arrival could be less of a problem than it sounds. The bigger question is whether Toyota can move quickly enough in China, where today's hot technology has a nasty habit of becoming yesterday's news almost overnight.
