Nikkei Asia reports Toyota will produce its first extended range electric vehicle, or EREV, for the Chinese market, with initial assembly slated to begin in early 2027. The program will start with an output of a few hundred units per month.

Toyota aims to scale annual assembly capacity to 200,000 units in 2027 and to about 400,000 units in 2028, according to the report.

What is an EREV?

An EREV uses an electric motor to drive the wheels while a small internal combustion engine serves only as a generator to recharge the battery. That architecture differs from conventional hybrids and has recently surfaced in other models, including the Nissan Rogue hybrid introduced with a similar setup.

BMW has also signalled plans to adopt comparable range extender technology on upcoming models such as the iX5 and X7. At the same time Toyota and BMW continue to collaborate on hydrogen fuel cell development, a separate technical track that both manufacturers are pursuing alongside the EREV programme.