Opinion: Japan automakers bought time with hybrids, now must spend it on software

Competition between intelligent vehicles and merely electrified ones has just begun

24. Juli 2026 um 18:00 Uhr / Von Hans Greimel, Nikkei Asia

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Decorations hang from a stage at Toyota Woven City, a real-world prototype city designed as a "living laboratory" for testing and developing future technologies in mobility, sustainability and urban living, developed by Toyota Motor together with Woven by (Bild: REUTERS/Daniel Leussink) — Decorations hang from a stage at Toyota Woven City, a real-world prototype city designed as a "living laboratory" for testing and developing future technologies in mobility, sustainability and urban living, developed by Toyota Motor together with Woven by Bild: REUTERS/Daniel Leussink

For years, Toyota and other Japanese automakers were pilloried as global laggards in the electric vehicle revolution.

Tesla sales rocketed, Chinese EV brands took the world by storm and European regulators were planning for an all-electric future. Meanwhile, Japanese players stubbornly stuck to hybrid vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells and fuel-efficient gasoline engines.