Toyota to delay US electric vehicle production until 2026 amid slowing sales, Nikkei By Reuters reports

(Reuters) – Toyota Motor will delay the start of electric vehicle production in North America to the first half of 2026 due to design tweaks and slowing electric vehicle sales, the business daily reported on Thursday.

The Japanese automaker recently told suppliers that the production start date of its first battery EV model at its plant in the US state of Kentucky – a three-row SUV – will be pushed back by several months, the Nikkei said.

Production is likely to start in early 2026 rather than late next year, Toyota (NYSE: ) said spokesman Scott Vazin.

“We always said it would be the end of 2025 and it could creep into 2026, and it looks like it will creep into 2026,” Vazin said.

He said Toyota plans to introduce five to seven battery electric vehicle models in the U.S. in the next two years.

The supply disruption and governance issues have prompted Toyota to delay the start of US electric vehicle production by six months to around June 2026, sources previously told Reuters.

The automaker had aimed to produce electric SUVs under its Lexus luxury brand in North America by 2030, but has scrapped that plan in favor of shipping completed vehicles to the US from Japan, the Nikkei also reported on Thursday.

Toyota in February invested $1.3 billion in its Kentucky facility for its electrification effort.