Toyota EVs Tromp On Tesla Toes In Europe

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Last Updated on: 12th March 2025, 04:54 pm

In an epic case of strategic timing, or maybe just a coincidence, Toyota has finally taken a meaningful plunge into the market for 100% battery EVs in Europe, where EV-curious auto buyers have begun scouting alternatives to the politically toxic Tesla brand. Toyota EVs will now be represented in Europe by three new models unveiled on March 12, with more in the pipeline to come.

A Window Of Opportunity For Toyota EVs

Toyota has taken a lot of flack over the years for insisting on promoting hybrid battery-electric cars as well as hydrogen fuel cell cars instead of committing more resources to pure BEV technology. Perhaps they were waiting all these years for the industry-leading BEV brand Tesla to take a tumble. If so, now is their moment. Toyota EVs have begun outselling Teslas in Norway, and the rest of the continent now beckons.

Hits to Tesla’s brand reputation began to pile up by 2020, when CEO Elon Musk refused to collaborate on a multi-stakeholder plan to restart auto manufacturing after the initial COVID-19 lockdown. In the ensuing years, he questioned the federal vaccine response, bought Twitter and turned it into X, and ultimately deployed his wealth to restyle himself as a global power broker, with US President Trump gleefully accepting the largess (see more background on Tesla sales here).

The new Toyota EVs were announced in a press statement that emphasized the company’s “multi-pathway” approach to different countries and regions, and Toyota emphasized that they are not suddenly kissing their hybrid and fuel cell vehicles good-bye. For that matter, Toyota expects to sell plenty of gasmobiles in the coming years.

Still, Toyota EVs have a ripe opportunity in Europe. The off-the-cliff sales drop racked up by Tesla in recent months may be just a temporary window of opportunity. Over the long run, the company is depending on European driver preferences and reliable policy-making to support an ever-increasing lineup of Toyota EVs.

“Compared to other regions, Europe has a high rate of electrified vehicle ownership and a high level of BEV ownership,” Toyota explains. “As a result, there is a need to further strengthen BEV products.”

Toyota EVs Challenge Tesla On Style

Toyota is also taking full advantage of Tesla’s stick-in-the-mud approach to EV styling. The look of a Tesla hasn’t changed much over the years, with the unfortunate exception of the Cybertruck, while EV startups and legacy automakers like Toyota are pushing loads of stylish new alternatives into the market.

The three new Toyota EVs illustrate how the company is leveraging its brand history to introduce new looks along with new technology. The new C-HR+ compact BEV crossover SUV, for example, follows on the successful track record of the ICE version of the same model in Europe, the C-HR.

C-HR stands for “Compact High Rider and Cross Hatch Run-about.” It has been a hit for Toyota in Europe since launching in 2016. On December 19 of last year, Toyota reported that the C-HR was slated to reach the 1 million sales milestone in Europe before the end of the year, “highlighting its position as a best seller and brand icon for Toyota across the continent.”

“It set a new styling benchmark in the European C-SUV segment with its bold, sharp-edged design reminiscent of a sports coupe’s dynamic lines,” Toyota enthused. “Its distinctive appearance helped to positively transform perceptions of Toyota in Europe, bringing a strong emotional boost to the brand.”

Style Is Important

“Customers responded positively with more than half citing the car’s styling as their principal reason for purchase,” Toyota also noted, adding that the C-HR was its best-performing model in terms of attracting first-time Toyota buyers.

In a speech marking the launch of the the new Toyota EVs, Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries also emphasized the importance of style. “The original C-HR showed that success can come by surprising customers, and when it was first launched, it caused quite a stir,” he said, adding that the second-generation C-HR was a “radical fashion statement that stood out from the crowd for customers who wanted to do the same.”

“It is the perfect model to now bring B.E.V. to the core of our portfolio,” he concluded.

In Wednesday’s EV announcement, Toyota drew also attention to the practical side of the all-electric C-HR+. “The base specification has a battery capacity of 57.7 kWh for a cruising range of 455 km, while the specification with a longer cruising range has a battery capacity of 77.0 kWh to ensure a cruising range of 600 km,” the company stated.

Toyota EVs Are Coming For Your Fossil Fuels

The C-HR+ is slated to launch in Europe sometime after the beginning of summer. Among the other Toyota EVs to hit the continent is the Lexus RZ, which appears to be intentionally aimed at appealing to drivers who are turned off by Tesla’s autopilot-focused marketing strategy. In addition to featuring steer-by-wire technology, the RZ enables drivers to feel like they are operating a manual transmission.

As for EV adoption in the US, the dictator-adjacent Commander-in-Chief who occupies the Oval Office has been busy wasting taxpayer dollars when he’s not occupied hawking Teslas for sale on the driveway of the White House.

“The U.S. General Services Administration, which orders many of the vehicles and owns EV chargers used by other federal agencies, has ‘temporarily suspended’ orders of zero-emission vehicles, stopped the installation of new EV charging stations, and ordered some existing stations to be shut down, National Public Radio and Colorado Public Radio reported on March 12.

“The Trump administration’s effort to shut down thousands of electric vehicle charging stations could ultimately cost the government as much as $1 billion,” E&E News adds.

The waste in infrastructure and equipment won’t stop EV sales — with the possible exception of Tesla — from rising in the US, where multiple private sector EV charging stakeholders have been rushing in to seize new opportunities in a growing market.

More Toyota EVs are also coming to the US auto market, Trump or no Trump. The company has experienced middling results with its current BEV offering in the US, the oddly named bZ4X compact SUV. However, rumor has it that the new C-HR+ will arrive on these shores sometime next year, so hold onto your hats.

Photo (cropped): More Toyota EVs are coming to Europe, and eventually the US, with the all electric C-HR+ compact crossover SUV leading the way (courtesy of Toyota).