Toyota Motors will ramp up its battery-electric offerings by focusing on its Lexus luxury brand, its incoming chief executive said Monday, but the company will not deviate from a long-held strategy of exploring other technologies.
The comments from Koji Sato, who takes over as the head of the world largest automaker from April 1, come as Toyota has pushed back against critics that have said it has been too slow to embrace battery-powered electric vehicles.
Toyota, which popularized the hybrid technology of the Prius, has said that hybrids make better sense for many drivers, especially in markets where the infrastructure is not ready to support batteries. It has also championed hydrogen-powered cars as the future.