Toyota reportedly cuts electric vehicle production target by 33%

The Japanese automaker downplayed the significance of the report, saying it still plans to produce 1.5 million electric vehicles a year by 2026

Not long ago, Toyota was criticized for relying on hybrids and having a lackluster electric vehicle lineup, a strategy that has proven to be correct, although Toyota has finally announced plans for a slew of new electric vehicles.

However, the Japanese giant is reportedly holding back, as Nikkei claims Toyota will “dramatically slow down production of electric vehicles.” Toyota currently plans to produce 1 million electric vehicles in 2026, which would be a 33% drop, according to the newspaper.

MORE: Volvo abandons commitment to only make electric cars, will sell hybrid powertrains after 2030

While that number is still a significant increase from the roughly 100,000 EVs sold last year, Toyota has reportedly decided to cut production due to a “slowing global EV market.” As part of that effort, the company will likely only produce around 400,000 EVs next year.

It’s unclear whether the plan will delay production of electric vehicles, but Toyota is developing a variety of vehicles, including two three-row SUVs, to be built at Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Kentucky and Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Indiana.

Back in July, the automaker said they intended to “launch 30 fully electric vehicle models globally across the Toyota and Lexus brands and produce up to 3.5 million fully electric vehicles per year” by 2030. When Reuters asked the automaker to clarify this, they said they still intended to produce 1.5 million electric vehicles per year by 2026 and 3.5 million electric vehicles per year by 2030. However, these numbers are just “targets.”

If Toyota’s plans do not pan out, they wouldn’t be the first to slow down their EV push, as Volvo recently abandoned its plans to only offer EVs by 2030. Instead, they are now looking at a mix of mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs.

Volvo isn’t the only company doing this, of course. Ford recently canceled a three-row electric crossover and delayed the launch of the F-150 Lightning successor until 2027. GM also recently delayed plans to launch an electric Buick in the United States.