Toyota targets Europe, China in hydrogen sales pivot

Toyota Motor (7203.T) will focus on selling hydrogen-powered trucks and cars in Europe and China, as part of a push to sell 200,000 of these vehicles by 2030, executives said on Tuesday.

The decision marks a shift in focus for the Japanese automaker, a major backer of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as an alternative to electric vehicles. Until now Toyota's focus has been on passenger cars and the North American market, an approach that had stalled.

The strategy update was the first by Toyota since it set up a separate hydrogen-focused unit this month to expand the application of fuel-cell technology into wider applications, including industrial power generation and commercial trucks.

Toyota sold just over 3,900 fuel cell vehicles in 2022, less than half of 1% of its global sales of around 9.5 million vehicles.

"This may be a strange way of putting it, but 200,000 is not a big number," Toyota's Chief Technology Officer, Hiroki Nakajima told reporters. "We believe this number and more can be achieved."