It is dangerous to defy a trend, but sometimes it can pay off. Toyota is a prime example. It is benefiting from its punchy bet on hybrid cars — a strategy at odds with the global shift towards battery electric cars. But will it run out of road?
The decades-old bet has rewarded the Japanese carmaker in the past year. Toyota has topped global sales rankings in the first quarter, even as peers around the world continue to struggle with component shortages.
A heavy reliance on hybrid models, which currently account for more than a quarter of Toyota’s sales, has given it an unexpected edge. Sales of hybrid versions of the RAV4, its top selling compact SUV, rose by double digits, even as overall sales fell.
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