Toyota Likely to Deploy a New EV-Dedicated Platform

Toyota Motor Corporation is reportedly planning to work on a brand-new all-electric car platform. According to the firm, the upcoming electric car platform will reduce the manufacturing cost of future EVs. It will serve as an alternative to the platform that currently underpins the electric models of the company. This initiative is said to be an outcome of the company's mission to mass-produce EVs to meet the increasing demand of customers in India. Toyota wouldn't be the first automaker to work on an electric vehicle-specific platform. Other international rivals like Volkswagen AG and more with their respective platforms have already taken steps in that area. The launch of a new EV platform by Toyota will put it in direct competition against Tesla, which has been a dedicated EV company since the beginning. 

In comparison to Toyota's current EV architecture, partially derived from an existing design for gasoline-powered vehicles, the upcoming EV-dedicated platform would reportedly require a substantial investment. The EV-optimized and standardised parts in the upcoming platform will aid in volume growth, resulting in long-term cost reductions. Apart from the future dedicated platform, the company is also aiming to invest in EV technologies that might increase the efficiency of a large volume of production. 

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Recently at the 16th edition of Asia's biggest show in India, Toyota showcased its all-electric car - BZ4X SUV. It is developed on the e-TNGA EV-specific platform. Reportedly, the company planned to use the same architecture for all future EVs but dropped the idea because the e-TNGA structure has many traits in common with the TNGA platform used in gasoline or hybrid vehicles. This TNGA platform has unnecessary components for electric cars. Hence, using this platform as a base for EVs will result in high manufacturing costs. According to reports, the manufacturer intends to reduce that cost by developing a detailed and EV-only architecture. The upcoming EV-dedicated platform will aid the company to push its EV production. 

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Toyota hasn't revealed its exact plans as to when it will introduce the new platform. Reportedly, the Japanese carmaker will deploy the new EV platform in 2027 or 2028 as the demand for electric cars will rise by that time in the market.