Toyota to push back US production to 2025 due to slowing sales, notes Nikkei: Report

Toyota will push back its EV production in North America to the first half of 2026, on the back of design adjustment and slowdown in EV sales, Reuters reported, citing Nikkei. 

The automaker informed suppliers of late that the start date for the production of its first battery EV model, a three-row SUV, at its factory in Kentucky, will be postponed by several months, Nikkei noted. 

Production is now likely to begin in early 2026 rather than late next year, Toyota spokesperson Scott Vazin said.

He added that Toyota planned to introduce five to seven battery electric models in the US over a span of two years, Nikkei stated. 

Persons in the know had earlier informed Reuters that governance issues and supply disruption had led the company to postpone its US electric vehicle production by six months, to roughly June 2026. 

The auto firm is looking to make electric SUVs under the Lexus brand in North America by 2030, but has done away with that plan, to instead ship completed vehicles to the U.S. from Japan, the Nikkei noted. 

In February, Toyota had pumped in USD 1.3 billion in Kentucky, as part of its electrification push, the newswire noted.