But Sato said the demand for purely battery-powered vehicles in China largely represented a new need in the market and was separate from demand for hybrid vehicles.The profit target has been helped by a weak yen boosting the value of overseas sales, and higher output volumes that outweighed the impact of surging materials costs. Reflecting the impact of the weak yen, revenue for the business year that ended in March this year grew to a record 37.15 trillion yen.
"We expect an increase in sales volume in all regions and production volume of 10.1 million , due to such factors as ... improvement in semiconductor supply," Toyota said in a statement. That would represent output growth of 11% versus the previous year. A previously announced dedicated unit to focus on next-generation battery EVs, known as BEV Factory, would consist of three platforms focusing on vehicle chassis, electronics and software, he said.