Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Detroit – toyota motor The stock sealed its best week since 2009 on Friday as the automaker laid out a strong plan for future all-electric vehicles and company scion Akio Toyoda became leader of the Japanese company’s board.
Toyota shares closed Friday at $164.35 per share on the New York Stock Exchange, down 2.3% for the day but still up 10.6% for the week. This 5-day gain is the stock’s best week since April 2009 when shares gained 14.5%.
This kind of rally is not typical for the stock. It’s only the third double-digit weekly gain in more than two decades for the relatively well-performing but mundane stock. The company’s shares are up 20% so far in 2023.
positive lift The year has come with an easing of recent supply chain problems for the automotive industry, including Toyota, and after Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder, announced transition plans. From CEO to Chairman Leading automaker after more than 13 years.
Toyoda, who stepped down as chief executive on April 1 and was succeeded by Koji Sato, has faced criticism from some environmental groups and investors Not Going Completely On EVs and continued production of hybrids and plug-in hybrids such as the Prius and Prius Prime.
Toyota stock in 2023.
Toyota executives, while Increasing investment in EVshas argued that such cars and trucks are a workaround, not the solution, to tighten global emissions standards and achieve carbon neutrality.
To address those doubting its strategy, the automaker offered a rare glimpse of its future plans behind the scenes.
“Management has rarely announced details of technology under development in the past, and we will continue to ensure competitive strength through electrification and intellectualization under the new management team,” JPMorgan analyst Akira Kishimoto said in an investor note this week. felt the commitment of
Ahead of its annual meeting on Wednesday, Toyota outlined plans for a new generation of EVs to rival industry leaders Tesla and China-based BYD. The company said it plans to launch its next generation of EVs in 2026, with vehicles with “solid-state batteries” by 2027 or 2028.
Solid-state batteries can be lighter with greater energy density and provide greater range at a lower cost than today’s EVs running on lithium-ion batteries.
Takero Kato, president of Toyota’s battery electric vehicle factory, said Toyota is targeting a driving range of 1,000 kilometers, or 620 miles. For its EVs. He added that the facility aims to produce around 1.7 million vehicles by 2030.
UBS analyst Kohei Takahashi said on Tuesday, “A strategic focus on differentiation (in terms of technology and business model) rather than scale in 2025-30 and the company’s strong ability to develop technologies in this direction are long-term positives.” ” In an investor note.
Following the announcements, Toyota shareholders on Wednesday approved and rejected the company’s new leadership a shareholder proposal Requiring Toyota to review its climate-related lobbying activities – voting in alignment with company recommendations.
– CNBC Michael Bloom And lim hui ji contributed to this report.