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Your Evening Briefing: Global Auto Giants Are Finally Coming for Tesla

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Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, said it’s planning to invest 4 trillion yen ($35.2 billion) to supercharge its electric vehicle push, with a target of selling 3.5 million units annually by the end of the decade. Toyota said it will roll out 30 electric models by then. Above, prototypes of Toyota’s crossover EVs at the company’s showroom in Tokyo on Dec. 14.

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, said it’s planning to invest 4 trillion yen ($35.2 billion) to supercharge its electric vehicle push, with a target of selling 3.5 million units annually by the end of the decade. Toyota said it will roll out 30 electric models by then. Above, prototypes of Toyota’s crossover EVs at the company’s showroom in Tokyo on Dec. 14.

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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It took awhile, but the big names in car manufacturing have cottoned to the reality that combustion engines are unlikely to be long for this world. While Tesla has dominated the space of (and publicity for) electric vehicles, Elon Musk’s company only sells about 1 car for every 10 or 11 sold by legacy giants Toyota and Volkswagen. Now, those two are beginning to act on the realization that the battery-powered age is here. The sleeping giants are awake, and they’re coming for Tesla. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.