Toyota Admits 'Cannot Survive' Without EV Pivot
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- Akio Toyoda warned Toyota "cannot survive" by clinging to traditional methods in an NHK interview aired July 19, saying that if the company becomes complacent, "it's over."
- Toyota engineers told the same NHK broadcast they are "losing to China," citing slower development cycles and manufacturing methods compared to BYD.
- The next-gen Corolla — 57 million units sold across 60 years and 12 model changes — will sit on a new platform supporting BEV, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, and ICE powertrains, which commentators flagged as a "compromise" approach.
- Toyota canceled its flagship Lexus LF-ZC EV last month, even as it rolls out updated EVs like the 2026 bZ, C-HR, and bZ Woodland.
- BYD surpassed Ford as the world's sixth-largest automaker in 2025, and CEO Wang Chuanfu said the company will be the No. 1 global automaker by scale within five years.
Why it matters: Toyota still holds the title of world's largest automaker in 2025, yet its own chairman now publicly frames that position as fragile — and by anchoring the next-gen Corolla on a multi-powertrain platform rather than a dedicated EV architecture, Toyota is signaling it is hedging its transition while critics say it has already fallen behind BYD and Tesla in battery, software, and drivetrain technology.
