Japanese automakers are turning up the heat on electric vehicle industry leader Tesla, as they reveal plans for new EV models to compete directly with Elon Musk's company.
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) in April made a serious challenge to Tesla in the SUV and crossover market as it unveiled two battery electric vehicle concept models that will compete with the leading EV producer's Model X SUV. The concept models are part of Toyota's bZ series dedicated to BEVs, which will role out 10 electric models by 2026.
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Toyota and BYD Challenge Tesla
A joint venture of Toyota and another Tesla rival Shenzen, China-based BYD (BYDDY) rolled out the bZ Sport Crossover Concept, in partnership with FAW Toyota Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing China, to target younger, Gen Z consumers.
The bZ Sport Crossover is being developed with intelligent features, such as driver assistance and automatic parking. The vehicle will be produced and sold by FAW Toyota in China.
Toyota has teamed with Guangzhou, China-based Guangzhou Automobile Group, GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., and TMEC, to produce the bZ FlexSpace Concept, family-oriented SUV-type BEV, focusing on utility. GAC Toyota Motor will produce and sell the vehicle in China.
Toyota said the two new models will be launched in the China market in 2024, but did not indicate when the vehicles might make their way across the Pacific to the US. No suggested manufacturer's retail price was listed either.
Tesla and Toyota rival Honda (HMC) said at its 2023 Honda Business Briefing in April that it plans to retool three of its manufacturing plants in Marysville, East Liberty and Anna, Ohio, for EV production and in 2025 will deliver its first mid- to large-size electric vehicles in North America, based on its original dedicated EV platform.
The three Ohio plants will become Honda's EV production hub for North America, as it plans to produce 2 million EVs annually by 2030 and increase its EV and fuel cell EV production to 100% globally by 2040, the company said at the briefing.
Honda also plans to introduce two EV models in 2024, the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX, that are being codeveloped with General Motors (GM). It will also develop affordable EVs in the joint venture that will go on sale in 2027.
In early 2024, Honda will deliver its e:NS2 and e:NP2 EVs in China and by the end of 2024, it will deliver in China models based on its e:N SUV xù concept model that was unveiled in April at Auto Shanghai.
In Japan, Honda will deliver an N-VAN commercial-use mini-EV model in 2024, an EV model based on the N-ONE in 2025 and two small size EV models in 2026.
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Subaru Ramps Up EV Production
Subaru (FUJHY) is looking for some good news to report after in December it recalled over 271,000 of its internal combustion engine Ascent vehicles from 2019-2022 model years because a heater defect could cause a fire when in operation. No crashes or injuries were reported in relation to the issue, a Subaru statement said.
The Japanese automaker has said it plans to transition away from ICE vehicles and build 400,000 electric vehicles a year by 2028, InsideEVs reported. Currently, Subaru has one EV model on the market to compete with Tesla's Model Y SUV, the all-electric Solterra SUV which has a range of 222 to 228 miles on a charge and has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $44,995.
Subaru is not satisfied with having only one EV model on the market, as its CEO Atsushi Osaki recently said the company will add a second assembly EV line in Japan to help launch four new all-electric crossovers by 2026 that will be marketed for sale in the US, Inside EVs said. Subaru's Yajima assembly line will have a capacity to build 200,000 EVs a year by 2026, and it will add another line in Oizumi that will also produce 200,000 EVs a year.
