Toyota was due to start production of a three-row electric SUV at a plant in Kentucky in 2025 but has pushed the date back to 2026, Nikkei reported on Thursday.
According to the Japanese news outlet, the decision to delay the vehicle is in part due to changes to the design.
Nikkei also reported that Toyota has canceled plans to start building new Lexus electric SUVs in the U.S. by 2030, and will instead ship those vehicles from Japan.
Toyota this year also announced plans for a second three-row electric SUV, to be built in Indiana, with an expected start date in 2026. It isn't clear whether that SUV will also be delayed.
Plans for the Toyota three-row electric SUV to be built in Kentucky were first announced by the automaker in 2023. Toyota said at the time it would introduce 10 EVs by the end of 2026 for both the Toyota and Lexus brands, after which the company would introduce next-generation EVs delivering much more range.
A Toyota spokesman told Reuters on Thursday that the automaker still plans to introduce five to seven EVs in the U.S. by the end of 2026.
With the new EVs, Toyota said it aimed to annually sell 1.5 million EVs globally as soon as 2026. Nikkei reported that Toyota has since scaled back the target to 1 million EVs, which represents about 10% of Toyota's current annual sales.
The change in Toyota's plans come as growth in EV demand has slowed significantly compared to just one year ago. Instead, buyers are flocking to hybrids which have seen a recent spike in demand. This led to Toyota posting record profits for the past financial year.
Toyota however still expects the market share of EVs to continuing growing over the long term, especially in the U.S., according to Nikkei.
