Toyota is banking on a stronger second half of the year and a historic breakthrough for electrified mobility. After a slight drop in first-quarter sales, the Japanese giant has lifted its full-year guidance and is aiming for more than five million electrified vehicles in the 2026 calendar year.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Toyota sold 2.395 million vehicles, equal to 99.3 percent of the volume reported a year earlier. Including Lexus, the total reached 2.552 million units, down 3.5 percent year on year. The Middle East was the main drag on demand.
The biggest market, the United States, recorded a similarly mild decline. Japan, however, expanded sales by almost 9 percent, Asia by 4.3 percent, and Europe by 3 percent, with 307,000 cars delivered on the continent.
Electrified models lead the growth
Electrified vehicles, meaning hybrids and plug-ins as well as battery-electric cars, now account for more than half of Toyota and Lexus deliveries. Volume in this segment reached 1.41 million units in the first quarter, a 12.4 percent increase despite the overall drop.
The fastest-growing category was battery-electric vehicles, with sales jumping 141.1 percent to 114,000 units, though they still make up a small fraction of the total. Conventional hybrids rose 6.7 percent to 1.238 million vehicles, while plug-in hybrids climbed 24.5 percent to 58,000 units.
Higher forecasts and new expansion plans
Toyota now expects to sell 9.7 million vehicles in the full fiscal year ending in March 2027, one percent more than previously planned. Together with Lexus, deliveries are projected to exceed 10.5 million cars. The company also raised its European target to 1.22 million units and expects stronger demand in North America as well as a recovery in the Middle East.
The improved outlook follows solid financial results for the first quarter. Revenue reached 13.525 trillion yen, or 74 billion euros, while operating profit was 1.063 trillion yen, or 5.8 billion euros. Net profit came in at 1.477 trillion yen, equivalent to 8.1 billion euros. For the full year, Toyota forecasts revenue of 54 trillion yen, or 300 billion euros, and net profit of 3.25 trillion yen, or 18 billion euros.
In calendar 2026, the carmaker wants to sell 5.03 million electrified vehicles, which would be the first time it exceeds five million such cars in a single calendar year. To support the growing demand, Toyota plans to modernize one of its Japanese battery plants, which currently makes packs for about 600,000 vehicles in 2027 and 2028, so that it can produce more units at lower cost.
Expansion also continues on the factory side. Toyota has already announced plans for a second plant in the United States, scheduled to start in 2030, and a fourth plant in India, which should begin operations in 2029. The third Indian factory is due to launch this year.
The forecasts remain conditional. The Middle East crisis could still affect regional vehicle sales, and the recent earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture has disrupted supply chains for components used by Toyota’s Miyata, Kanda and Kokura plants, even though the company does not operate factories in the affected area.
Source: WNP.PL, Photo: Toyota press materials
