Toyota?with its now-ubiquitous Prius?has spent the better part of two decades democratizing the benefits of electrification like no other automaker, yet its enthusiasm for non-hybrid electric vehicles has been tepid at best. That may finally be changing. The world?s top-selling automaker is said to be reconsidering its absence from the electric-vehicle market. According to a report in Japan?s Nikkei business newspaper, Toyota is looking to add longer-range EVs to its portfolio starting around 2020.
Why has Toyota held back on EVs" Perhaps because battery technology wasn?t quite ready for mass-market acceptance; perhaps, also, because its efforts had been channeled toward hydrogen fuel cells. One sign that times are changing is Toyota?s new Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. Unlike the regular Prius, the Prime is an evangelist for electric motoring, with an EV mode that locks out the coarse gasoline engine for up to 25 miles. Notably, it?s more affordable than the Chevrolet Volt, although the Volt?s EV range is about double that distance. A move in the direction of EVs would be quite a turnaround from just two years ago, when Toyota’s U.S. Advanced Technologies Group manager Craig Scott, speaking of the company’s broad shift toward hydrogen fuel cells, told the Los Angeles Times that ?no one is coming to our door asking us to build a new electric car.?
The project could take form quickly. Nikkei reported that Toyota will put together an in-house EV team a...