Toyota, in about-face, may mass-produce long-range electric cars: Nikkei

Long range plan: The Nikkei business daily said Toyota would set up a team in early 2017 dedicated to developing electric cars that can travel more than 300km on a single charge. — Reuters

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp is looking at mass-producing long-range electric vehicles (EVs) that would hit the market around 2020, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Nov 7, in what would be a dramatic reversal of strategy for the world's top-selling automaker.

Even as rivals such as Nissan Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and Tesla Motors have touted pure electric cars as the most viable zero-emission vehicles for the future, Toyota has said it would reserve EVs for short-distance commuting given the high price of rechargeable batteries and lengthy charging times.